Special  Edition. 

Quarterly  Conference  Bulletin  of  the 
Executive  Officers  of  State  Institu- 
tions and  the  State  Board  of  Control. 


Entered,  at  St.  Paid,  Minn.,  as  second-class  matter,  December  12,  1912. 
Accepted  for  mailing  at  the  special  rate  of  postage  provided  for  in  Section  1103, 
Act  of  October  3,  1917,  authorized  July  18,  1918. 


Proceedings 

of  the 

First  State  Conference  of 
Child  Welfare  Boards 

with  the 

Board  of  Control 


State  Capitol 

May  9  and  10,  1919 
St.  Paul,  Minnesota 


GIFT   OF 
7  COSTCO 


DOCUMEIO1 
DEFT. 


Special   Edition. 

Quarterly  Conference  Bulletin  of  the 
Executive  Officers  of  State  Institu- 
tions and  the  State  Board  of  Control. 


Entered  at  St.  Pant,  Minn.,  as  second-class  matter,  December  12,  1912. 
Accepted  for  mailing  at  the  special  rate  of  postage  provided  for  in  Section  1103, 
Act  of  October  3,  1917,  authorized  July  18,  1918. 


Proceedings 

of  the 

First  State  Conference  of 
Child  Welfare  Boards 

with  the 

Board  of  Control 


State  Capitol 

May  9  and  10,  1919 
St.  Paul,  Minnesota 


•     ••     •«••     •  -••••       •     •      *", 

««••/  •!•*.»••      •   ••        * 
•  *«••*••*•••*     ••••••*•*•• 


Table  of  Contents 


Child  Welfare  and  the   Functions  of  the   State   Board  of  Control — 

Chas.  E.  Vasaly,  Chairman 3-6 

Symposium  of  State  Institutions — 

The  State  Public  School — Galen  A.  Merrill,  Superintendent 7-12 

The  Home  School  for  Girls — IFannie  French  Morse,  Superintendent  15-21 

The  State  Training  School — J.  T.  Fulton,  Superintendent 23-28 

Symposium — Health,  Labor,  and   Education — 

Infant  Welfare  Clinics — E.  J.  Huenekens,  M.  D 31-34 

Infant   Welfare   Clinics   in   the   City  of  St.   Paul — Mrs.  Margaret 

B.  Lettice,  Director,  Baby  Welfare  Association 37-40 

The   Work   of  a   County    Health    Nurse — Miss   Amalia   Bengtson, 

County  Superintendent  of  Schools 4il-45 

Minnesota   Child    Labor   Laws — John  P.   Gardiner,  Commissioner 

of  Labor   48-52 

Compulsory  School  Laws — S.  A.  Challman,  Department  of  Public 

Instruction    53-54 

The   Need  for  Trained  Service   in   Child   Welfare  Work— Arthur  J. 

Todd,  Ph.  D.,  University  of  Minnesota 60-63 

The  Spirit  and  Method  of  Social  Investigation — E.  C.  Steger,  General 

'Secretary,    United    Charities 64-67 

The  Red  Cross  and  Child  Welfare— ^F.  J.  Bruno,  Director,  Civilian 

Relief,  American  Red  Cross 68-73 

Reflections  of  a  Juvenile  Court  Judge — Charles  F.  Hall 74-76 

Symposium,  General  Child  Welfare — 

The  Adoption  and   Placement  of  Children — William  Hodson,  Di- 
rector, Children's  Bureau 78-83 

Ecel  Hays,  Agent,  Children's  Bureau 89-92 

The  Problem  of  Illegitimacy — William^Hodson,  Director,  Children's 

Bureau .' 92-96 

Florence  Monahan,  Agent,  Children's  Bureau 96-99 

Hospital  for  Crippled  and  Deformed  Children — Carl  C.  Chatterton, 

M.  D.,  Associate  Surgeon  in  Chief 100-102 

County    Allowance    as    a    Paying    Investment — Helen    Montegriffo,  • 

Secretary,  Winona  County  Child  Welfare  Board 102-105 

What   is    Expected   of  Our  County  Child   Welfare    Boards — Otto  W. 

Davis,  'Secretary,  Council  of  Social  Agencies 108-113 

Some   Problems   of  the    Feeble-Mi nded — William   Hodson,   Director, 

Children's    Bureau    113-115 

Symposium  On  Work  of  Child  Welfare  Boards — 

Ramsey  County — (Monica  Keating,  Executive  Secretary 116-117 

Hennepin  County — Lela  Corriston,  Executive  Secretary 117-118 

St.  Louis  County — Fred  Ward,  Secretary 118-119 

Telegram  to  Mrs.  E.  F.  Waite 119 

List  of  Those  in  Attendance  at  Conference..  120-122 


QUARTERLY  CONFERENCE  BULLETIN 


Proceedings 

of  the 

First  State  Conference  of  Child  Welfare  Boards 

with  tHe 

Board  of  Control 


State  Capitol,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota 
May  9th  and  10th,   1919 


PROGRAM. 


FRIDAY,  MAY  9TH. 
Morning— 9:00  A.  M. 

Chas.  E.  Vasaly,  chairman,  State  Board  of  Control,  presiding. 

''Child  Welfare  and  the  Functions  of  the  State  Board  of  Control'^Chas.  E. 

Vasaly. 
"Symposium  of  State  Institutions" — An  explanation  of  the  nature  and  pur- 

pose  of  three  state  institutions  dealing  with  children. 

1.  The  State  Public  School,  Owatonna — Galen  A.  Merrill,  superintendent. 

Discussion  and  questions. 

2.  The  Home  School  for  Girls,  Sauk  Centre— Fannie  French  Morse,  super- 
intendent. 

Discussion  and  questions. 

3.  The  State  Training  School,  Red  Wing — J.  T.  Fulton,  superintendent. 

Discussion  and  questions. 


Afternoon — 1:45  P.  M. 

Ralph  W.  Wheelock,  State  Board  of  Control,  presiding. 
"Health,  Labor  and  Education,  Infant  Welfare  Clinics." 

Dr.  E.  J.  Huenekens,  director,  Bureau  of  Child  Conservation,  State  Board 
of  Health. 

Discussion  and  questions. 

"Infant  Welfare  Clinics  in  the  City  of  St.  Paul"— Mrs.  Margaret  B.  Lettica, 
director,  Baby  Welfare  Association. 
Discussion  and  questions. 


"The  ^drk;&£*a  *C<wnty  HeaJtn'  Nurse" — Amalia  Bengtson,  county' superin- 
tendent of 'schools,1 R-ebvlfte* .county. 

Discussion  and  questions. 
"Child  Labor  Laws  of  -Minnesota" — John  P.  Gardiner,  commissioner  of  labor. 

Discussion  and  questions. 

"Compulsory  School  Laws" — iS.  A.  Challman,  department  of  public  instruc- 
tion. 

Discussion  and  questions. 

Evening— 8:00  P.  M. 

Chas.  E.  Vasaly,  chairman,  State  Board  of  Control,  presiding. 

"Trained  Service" — Arthur  J.  Todd,  Ph.D.,  University  of  Minnesota. 

"The  Spirit  and  Method  of  Social  Investigation" — E.  C.  Steger,  general  sec- 
retary, United  Charities,  St.  Paul. 

"The  Red  Cross  and  Child  Welfare" — F.  J.  Bruno,  director,  Civilian  Relief, 
Minneapolis. 

SATURDAY,   MAY  10TH. 

Morning— 9:00  A.  M. 

C.  J.  Swendsen,  State  Board  of  Control,  presiding. 
"Symposium  on  Child  Welfare."" 
Adoption  of  children. 
Placement  of  children. 
Illegitimacy. 
Feeblemindedness. 
William  Hodson,  director,  Children's  Bureau. 

Discussion  led  by  Florence  Monahan  and  Ecel  Hays  of  the  Chil- 
dren's Bureau. 

Noon. 
Lunch  at  the  Hospital  for  Crippled  and  Deformed  Children,  St.  Paul. 

Afternoon— 1:45  P.  M. 

Session  at  hospital. 

"County  Allowance  As  a  Paying  Investment" — Helen  Montegriffo,  secre- 
tary, Winona  County  Child  Welfare  Board. 

"Hospital  for  Crippled  and  Deformed  Children,  Its  Purpose  and  Work" — 
Carl  C.  Chatterton,  M.D.,  Associate  Surgeon-in^Chief. 

"What  Is  Expected  of  Our  Child  Welfare  Boards" — Otto  W.  Davis,  executive 
secretary,  Council  of  Social  Agencies,  (Minneapolis. 

"Symposium  on  Work  of  Child  Welfare  Boards"- 

Ramsey  County — Monica  Keating,   executive   secretary,  St.   Paul. 
Hennepin  County — Lela  Corriston,  executive  secretary,  Minneapolis. 
St.  Louis  County — Fred  Ward,  secretary,  Duluth. 


CHILD  WELFARE  AND  THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE 
STATE  BOARD  OF  CONTROL 

Chas.  E.  Vasaly,  Chairman,  State  Board  of  Control. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  This  is  the  first  state  conference  of  county 
child  welfare  boards  ever  held  in  the  state  of  Minnesota,  and  the  first  con- 
ference of  that  kind — a  conference  of  child  welfare  boards — ever  held  in 
the  United  States.  It  is  possible  to  have  such  a  conference  because  of  the 
laws  of  the  state  of  Minnesota  relating  to  the  welfare  of  children. 

Our  "director  of  the  children's  bureau  spent  several  days  of  this  week 
in  Washington,  called  there  by  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Children  to  partici- 
pate in  a  conference  on  matters  relating  to  child  welfare.  He  found,  when 
he  got  there,  a  most  enthusiastic  welcome  as  the  representative  of  a  state 
that  was  so  progressive.  There  was  a  note  of  appreciation  and  enthusiasm 
over  the  work  that  Minnesota  has  accomplished. 

It  seems  to  me  that  as  citizens  of  (Minnesota  we  ought  to  be  proud 
of  the  fact  that  we  have  enacted  laws  taking  care  of  the  interests  of  the 
handicapped  children  of  the  state.  The  interest  of  the  handicapped  chil- 
dren is  the  interest  of  all  the  children  of  the  state;  it  is  the  interest  of 
all  the  people  of  the  state,  whether  they  come  in  direct  contact  with  the 
problem  or  not. 

There  is  this  striking  thing  about  the  laws  relating  to  child  welfare  in 
this  state.  What  do  laws  represent?  A  sentiment  that  has  already  been 
created.  In  this  state  many  of  our  laws  relating  to  child  welfare  are  ahead, 
in  a  sense,  of  the  sentiment  existing  in  the  state.  They  are  laws  to  be 
lived  up  to.  They  are  laws  to  which  we  must  educate  ourselves  and  our 
communities  to  observe  and  to  understand  and  to  interpret  in  a  broad 
and  liberal  spirit.  They  are  themselves  the  most  wonderful  propaganda. 
They  have  teeth  in  them  when  it  is  necessary.  They  have  vision  in  them. 
And  they  lay  the  foundation  for  a  broad,  constructive  program  for  the 
benefit  of  the  children  of  the  state  of  Minnesota.  Most  of  the  laws  of 
Minnesota  represent  a  partial  crystalization  of  public  opinion  on  this  or 
that  phase  of  social  matters,  but  these  particular  laws,  as  I  am  sure  you 
will  remember,  those  of  you  who  have  read  them  and  studied  them,  are  in 
advance  of  what  might  be  supposed  to  represent  the  public  opinion  of  the 
state  of  Minnesota  on  the  handicapped  children  of  the  commonwealth. 

And  because  they  are  in  advance,  one  great  obstacle  in  this  great 
matter  of  social  reform  has  been  removed.  We  do  not  now  need  to  think 
about  particular  laws  to  be  achieved.  We  have  the  laws.  Here  and  there 
they  may  need  to  be  perfected,  to  be  changed,  but  the  great  broad  prin- 
ciples in  them  are  already  in  law,  and  all  we  need  to  do  is  to  educate  our 
people,  to  educate  our  communities  to  the  realization  of  the  value  of  those 
laws. 

No  other  state  in  the  union  possesses  such  a  children's  code.  That  is 
a  thing  to  be  proud  of,  but  if  we  stopped  with  that,  we  should  not  get  very 
far.  Wle  must  make  that  code  of  laws  a  living  thing.  We  must  make  it 
something  practical,  something  that  we  can  use  daily  in  the  work  before  us. 

3 


The  functions  of  the  Board  of  Control  with  relation  to  child  welfare 
boards  are,  after  all,  simple.  We  are  fellow  workmen  with  you  in  the 
development  and  the  application  of  these  laws.  That  is  all.  We  are  to 
help  you,  so  far  as  we  are  able,  to  see  that  these  laws  are  rightly  applied. 

The  child  welfare  boards"  are  composed  of  people  who  have  now  become 
officers  of  the  state  of  Minnesota;  just  as  much  officers  of  the  state  of 
Minnesota,  just  as  much  expected  to  do  their  duty,  as  the  governor  him- 
self; just  as  much  expected  to  uphold  all  the  traditions  of  Minnesota  which, 
make  for  righteousness  as  any  other  officer  of  the  state.  You  have  be- 
come officials  of  Minnesota,  not  perfunctory  at  all,  not  in  any  sense  so,  but 
real  officials,  with  a  definite  task  ahead  of  you,  with  a  definite  work  to 
do,  to  which  you  must  give  all  that  is  best  in  you  if  you  expect  to  achieve 
success. 

I  say  that  because  I  put  the  work  of  the  child  welfare  boards  upon  as 
high  a  plane  as  the  work  of  any  organization  in  the  state  of  Minnesota. 
There  can  be  no  greater  work,  there  can  be  nothing  better  to  do  than  the 
work  before  the  child  welfare  'boards  of  Minnesota.  Some  fifty,  I  believe, 
have  now  organized  in  the  counties  of  the  state.  Others  are  in  process  of 
organization.  It  will  only  be  a  comparatively  short  time  before  every 
county  in  Minnesota  will  have  a  child  welfare  board.  What  a  great  future 
is  ahead  of  those  boards  if  they  realize  some  of  the  things  they  have  to  do! 

I  can  see  before  me  somewhat  of  a  vision  of  the  expansion  and  de- 
velopment of  these  child  welfare  boards  into  something  more  than  a  child 
welfare  board;  perhaps  into  a  community  welfare  board,  perhaps  into  a 
public  welfare  board.  Why  not?  The  nucleus  is  there,  the  development 
is  natural;  and  if  those  that  have  the  task  of  caring  for  children  do  it 
well,  do  it  as  it  should  be  done,  why  should  they  not  be  trusted  with  a 
larger  problem,  with  other  problems  of  vital  interest  to  the  community? 
The  welfare  of  the  child  is  the  welfare  of  the  community.  For  good  or  ifl 
we  are  inextricably  bound  to  him,  and  it  is  our  duty  to  see  that  he  gets  a 
square  deal. 

A  wonderful  thing  has  been  achieved  in  Minnesota.  The  poor,  de- 
pendent, helpless,  ignorant  child,  often  raised  in  the  poorest  of  environ- 
ments, with  every  prospect  of  sorrow  and  misery  and  evil,  even,  before 
him,  by  a  glorious  paradox,  because  of  his  position,  achieves  at  once  two 
and  a  half  million  friends.  Minnesota  is  behind  every  unfortunate  child 
born  within  its  borders.  The  fact  that  we,  as  members  of  these  boards,  are 
part  and  parcel  of  this  sovereignty  of  the  state  which  extends  its  mighty 
power  over  unfortunate  children,  seems  to  me  to  point  out  a  particular 
duty. . 

There  are  certain  things  the  child  welfare  boards  need.  Of  course  a 
great  deal  of  the  work  is  now  being  done  by  volunteer  workers.  That  is  a 
splendid  thing;  we  need  the  volunteer  workers  and  we  would  not  dispense 
with  them.  But  inevitably  the  trained  worker  must  be  had  and  must  be 
used.  To  do  that  requires  funds.  There  needs  to  be  education  in  the  com- 
munity of  all  the  officials  concerned  in  the  administration  of  the  county 
government  to  a  realization  that  funds  expended  for  child  welfare  are  the 
highest  and  the  best  and  the  noblest  form  of  social  insurance.  When  you 
have  got  them  to  see  that,  you  will  have  achieved  a  great  deal.  But  you 


need  this  education  more  in  the  beginning  of  this  work  than  you  will  need 
it  later  on,  when  the  foundation  shall  have  been  securely  laid. 

You  will  need  all  the  tact  and  the  patience  possible  in  the  solution  of 
the  problems  before  you.  Our  investigators  need  a  great  deal  of  tact.  Wte 
need  tact  in  dealing  with  those  who  are  willing  to  do  things  if  they  under- 
stand, but  who  need  to  be  taught  these  things.  We  need  patience  with 
inherited  traditions  that  we  may  feel  are  evils;  we  need  skill  in  under- 
standing the  human  heart  and  in  understanding  how  to  change  unwise 
traditions. 

We  need  to  be  careful,  above  all,  never  to  in  the  slightest  degree  allow 
the  specter  of  politics  to  intrude  upon  the  work  we  do.  Wte  are  not  in- 
terested, so  far  as  child  welfare  is  concerned,  whether  this  or  that  person 
belongs  to  any  particular  party;  whether  he  holds  this  or  that  particular, 
economic  doctrine.  We  are  concerned  primarily  with  the  welfare  of  the 
child  and  not  with  doctrines  and  not  with  creeds.  We  must  respect  creeds 
above  everything.  We  must  respect  differences  of  opinion.  We  must  learn 
to  respect  other  points  of  view,  even  though  they  differ  from  our  own. 
We  may  even  have  an  opinion  about  them;  we  may  think  they  are  not 
only  peculiar  but  worse  than  peculiar;  but  that  is  not  our  province.  Our 
province  is  to  do  those  things  which  will  see  that  the  child  receives  the 
proper  protection  promised  him  by  the  state  of  Minnesota.  That  is  our 
particular  business;  not  to  inflict  our  own  views  or  opinions  upon  anybody 
else;  and  not  to  allow  them  to  outweigh  our  judgment  in  these  matters. 
That  we  cannot  afford  to  do  if  we  expect  this  work  of  child  welfare  to 
succeed  as  it  should. 

We  demand  and  need  accuracy  of  statement.  Imagine,  for  instance, 
how  very  important  it  is,  in  the  matter  of  placement  or  of  adoption,  for 
the  Board  of  Control  to  know  just  what  the  facts  are;'  because  it  is  not 
going  to  be  possible — in  fact,  we  do  not  want  it  to  be  possible — for  the 
Board  itself,  or  its  own  agents,  to  practically  investigate  every  case  through- 
out this  state.  That  is  one  phase  of  the  work  of  the  child  welfare  boards. 
That  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  we  have  child  welfare  boards,  who  will 
be  better  equipped  to  deal  with  their  local  problems  than  we  can,  sitting 
in  the  capitol.  You  are  entitled  to  all  the  help  we  and  our  agents  can 
give  you,  but  there  are  phases  which  are  better  understood  by  you  which 
you  ought  to  work  out.  If  you  send  us  an  inaccurate  report  as  to  this  or 
that  phase  of  the  matter,  and  on  the  report  we  decide  the  destiny  of  a 
child  and  make  our  report  to  a  judge  based  on  that,  you  have  committed  a 
grievous  wrong  against  the  child.  That  shows  the  utmost  importance  of 
accuracy  in  the  preparation  of  reports  and  in  the  work  of  the  investigators 
and  of  the  boards  themselves.  Those,  however,  are  points  of  elementary 
principles  which  you  no  doubt  have  considered  and  talked  over. 

An  important  part  of  the  work  of  the  child  welfare  board  is  frequent 
meetings,  getting  the  different  points  of  view,  talking  over  the  things  to 
be  done.  You  will  be  amazed,  I  am  sure,  even  in  the  counties  which  have 
assumed  to  have  a  grasp  on  the  child  welfare  problem,  at  the  number  of 
problems  of  every  kind  that  will  confront  you.  Get  together;  know  each 
other;  know  the  laws  under  which  you  are  working;  understand  the  spirit 
and  the  vision  that  is  in  those  laws;  interpret  them  to  your  people;  help 


them  to  understand  that  it  is  a  splendid  thing  to  be  a  Minnesotan  because 
of  those  laws,  but  far  more  splendid  to  apply  those  laws  practically,  wisely 
and  well. 

I  said  I  had  a  vision  of  what  these  boards  might  develop  into,  and  I 
will  repeat  that  in  closing.  I  see  unlimited  possibilities  for  these  boards 
in  this  state.  There  is  scarcely  a  problem  that  confronts  us  in  a  social 
way  now  but  what  in  some  form  is  reflected  in  the  attitude  of  the  community 
toward  the  child,  whether  it  be  the  question  of  recreation,  of  delinquency,  or 
education,  or  whatever  it  may  be.  It  is  a  glorious  task  to  have  to  do  with 
these  matters;  it  is  going  to  be  a  wonderful  opportunity;  and  if  the  child 
welfare  boards  realize  that  they  have  a  mission,  that  they  are  prophets  of 
a  new  dispensation  with  regard  to  children,  they  will  certainly  be  worthy 
of  the  name  they  bear.  And  could  there  be  a  better  name  than  that  of 
child  welfare  boards? 

One  of  the  necessary  things  for  child  welfare  boards  to  know  is  about 
the  state  institutions  which  have  to  do  with  children,  and  this  morning 
the  superintendents  of  three  very  important  institutions  are  going  to  give 
you  some  information  about  these  institutions.  Let  me  say,  before  I  intro- 
duce the  first  speaker,  that  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  one  of  the  duties  of 
the  child  welfare  boards  to  know  the  institutions  of  our  state  which  have 
to  do  with  children;  to  understand  something  of  their  functions  and  what 
they  are  doing  and  how  to  interpret  them,  if  you  please,  to  the  community. 

The  first  speaker  is  the  superintendent  of  the  school  to  which  we  send 
dependent  and  neglected  children;  and  we  have  a  lot  of  them  in  this  state. 
He  has  been  the  only  superintendent  of  that  school,  because  he  founded  the 
school  and  has  been  with  it  all  the  years  since.  It  is  a  school  which  has 
made  a  great  and  a  wonderful  record.  I  take  a  great  deal  of  pleasure,  per- 
sonal and  otherwise,  in  introducing  to  you  Mr.  Galen  A.  Merrill,  superin- 
tendent of  the  State  Public  School  at  Owatonna. 


SYMPOSIUM  OF  STATE  INSTITUTIONS 


THE  STATE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL— OWATONNA 

Galen  A.  Merrill,  Superintendent. 

The  calling  of  this  conference  to  discuss  problems  of  child  welfare,  is 
evidence  that  the  State  Board  of  Control  intends  that  these  problems  which 
are  of  such  vital  importance  to  the  state  shall  be  given  the  consideration 
they  deserve;  and  the  eloquent  and  illuminating  address  of  our  chairman 
ought  to  be  an  inspiration  to  us  to  go  out  and  exert  ourselves  to  the  utmost 
in  working  them  out. 

The  policy  of  the  state  of  Minnesota  with  respect  to  dependent  chil- 
dren is  a  policy  of  direct  state  care  of  such  children  as  become  public 
charges  and  of  licensing,  but  not  subsidizing,  private  institutions  and 
agencies  to  care  for  children  under  state  supervision.  The  position  taken 
by  the  commission  appointed  by  the  governor  two  years  ago  to  revise  the 
laws  of  Minnesota  relating  to  children  was  that  it  is  the  function  of  the 
state  to  act  as  an  administrative  machine,  all  state,  county  and  municipal 
agencies  dealing  with  children  being  factors  in  its  scheme  of  development 
of  standards  and  machinery.  The  state  sets  the  standard  for  the  guidance 
of  all  institutions  and  agencies  dealing  with  children  and  supervises  their 
work. 

An  important  factor  in  this  scheme  of  state  care  of  children  is  the 
State  Public  School,  at  Owatonna,  which  is  the  one  and  only  institution  for 
dependent  normal  children  maintained  and  administered  by  the  state.  It 
is  a  temporary  home  and  school  and  placing-out  agency  through  which  the 
state  cares  for  such  children.  Thirty-four  years  ago  the  legislature  author 
ized  the  establishment  of  this  school,  and  it  was  opened  two  years  later, 
Its  founders  recognized  the  truth  that  home  life  is  childhood's  normal  en- 
vironment, and  so,  for  the  guidance  of  the  management,  embodied  in  the 
law  the  requirement  that  due  diligence  be  exercised  in  placing  the  children 
committed  to  it  in  family  homes.  With  wise  foresight,  the  framers  of  the 
law  also  embodied  in  its  provisions  means  by  which  the  children  placed  out 
shall  continue  to  receive  the  care  and  protection  of  the  state,  which  exer- 
cises full  powers  of  personal  guardianship  over  them.  The  appointment 
of  visiting  agents  to  investigate  and  recommend  homes  and  to  visit  and 
supervise  the  children  after  being  placed  in  homes,  was  authorized.  Chil- 
dren under  fifteen  years  of  age,  both  boys  and  girls,  are  admitted  to  the 
school  upon  orders  of  the  juvenile  courts  adjudging  them  dependent  or 
neglected.  County  officials,  members  of  child  welfare  boards  and  other 
citizens  who  know  of  children  in  want  or  suffering,  can  begin  proceed- 
ings by  filing  a  petition  with  the  court.  The  juvenile  divisions  of  the  dis- 
trict courts  have  jurisdiction  and  issue  the  orders  in  all  counties  having 
33,000  population  or  more.  The  probate  courts,  acting  as  juvenile  courts, 
under  the  revised  law  have  jurisdiction  in  all  counties  having  less  than 
33,000  population. 


The  law  prescribes  the  court  procedure  and  defines  the  duties  of 
judges  in  guarding  against  the  unnecessary  separation  of  children  from 
parents  who  can  be  helped  or  compelled  to  perform  their  duties  as  parents. 
People  must  not  be  permitted  to  take  advantage  of  the  law  whereby  the 
state  assumes  guardianship  and  support  of  children  as  a  means  by  which 
they  can  get  rid  of  the  support  of  their  children  in  the  expectation  of  get- 
ting them  back  again  as  soon  as  they  are  old  enough  to  be  of  service,  when, 
by  proper  effort  and  perhaps  some  assistance,  they  can  care  for  them- 
selves. 

The  court  proceedings  vesting  the  guardianship  and  custody  of  the 
children  in  the  state  and  cancelling  the  authority  of  the  parents  over 
them  offers  no  inducement  to  parents  to  throw  their  children  upon  the 
public  for  support,  but  rather  deters  them  from  doing  so,  unless  such  a 
course  is  really  necessary.  Nor  does  this  requirement  cause  unnecessary 
hardship  as  a  rule,  as  children  may  be,  and  are  in  numerous  instances,  re- 
stored to  parents  who  have  been  found  worthy.  Interference  in  the  home 
is  necessary  and  this  stern  requirement  of  law  essential  when  children  need 
protection  and  must  be  removed  from  bad  homes  at  any  cost,  even  the 
severance  of  ties  which  bind  them  to  dissolute  and  incapable  parents.  But 
so  great  are  the  dangers  attending  the  separation  of  children  from  their 
natural  parents,  and  so  serious  may  be  the  result  of  breaking  up  homes, 
that  zeal  in  this  direction  must  be  tempered  with  prudence,  and  the  truth 
kept  in  mind  that  while  moral  degeneracy  or  gross  incompetency  may  justify 
the  breaking  up  of  homes,  poverty  alone  is  not  a  sufficient  cause  for  such 
action.  Many  a  home  when  judged  by  an  ideal  standard  may  appear  povertv- 
stricken  and  inferior,  and  yet  not  be  an  unfit  home  for  the  children  born 
there.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  there  is  no  love  like  mother  love,  and 
before  children  are  deprived  of  the  enjoyment  and  influence  of  that  love, 
we  must  be  reasonably  certain  that  that  which  we  propose  to  substitute 
for  it  will  be  of  equal  value  in  its  influence  upon  their  characters  and  lives. 

The  status  of  children  cared  for  at  the  State  Public  School  as  to  parents 
is  significant.  Of  the  total  number  received  (6,063)  only  5  per  cent  were 
orphans,  while  39  per  cent  had  one  parent  living  and  59  per  cent  had  both 
parents.  The  prevalence  of  desertion  as  an  immediate  cause  of  their  de- 
pendency is  shown  by  the  fact  that  40  per  cent  of  the  children  received 
were  deserted  outright  and  dependent  upon  the  state  for  that  cause.  Of 
other  causes,  or  contributing  causes,  alcoholism  stands  first,  with  about 
55  per  cent,  and  that  usually  means  wife  and  family  deserted  in  the  end. 
Unusually  bad  social  conditions,  sexual  immorality,  insanity  and  feeble- 
mindedness in  the  immediate  ancestry,  crime  and  pauperism,  are  so  in- 
termingled as  to  make  it  impossible  to  designate  any  one  as  a  leading 
cause. 

This  school  is  organized  on  the  community  plan,  each  child  sharing  in 
the  social,  industrial  and  educational  life  of  the  community,  approximately 
as  he  would  in  the  ordinary  community,  and  in  preparation  for  such  life 
in  the  household  of  which  he  is  to  become  a  member.  The  unit  of  com- 
munity life  here,  as  in  a  village  or  city,  is  the  family  group.  Each  indi- 
vidual shares  in  the  products  of  his  labor. 

There  are  the  recreational  centers  in  which  each  individual  comes  from 
the  particular  group  to  which  he  belongs;  the  library  where  the  different 

8 


interests  meet  and  mingle;  the  educational  center  in  the  day  school  with 
its  many  activities,  and  the  religious  center  in  the  chapel  services  with 
their  music,  ethical  and  biblical  instruction.  The  occupational  interests 
of  the  community  are  both  theoretical  and  practical.  In  the  formal  indus- 
trial instruction  and  manual  training,  Sloyd,  domestic  science,  sewing  and, 
in  the  near  future  we  hope,  shops  for  instruction  in  the  more  special  in- 
dustries, the  children  are  carefully  trained  in  the  co-ordinated  use  of  hand 
and  brain.  Industrial  school  work  is  particularly  important  for  the  chil- 
dren and  meets  a  special  need  among  them.  There  are  various  forms  ot 
special  instruction  furnished  by  the  several  working  departments  of  the 
institution  where  the  practical  concerns  of  the  community  are  worked  out. 
A  manual  training  teacher  gives  systematic  instruction  to  the  boys  and 
teaches  them  how  to  make  and  mend  things.  A  domestic  science  teacher 
gives  practical  instruction  to  the  girls  in  food  values,  the  planning  of  menus 
and  the  cooking  and  serving  of  food.  Sewing  is  taught  in  systematic 
courses.  Instruction  is  given  in  the  various  forms  of  agriculture  by  com- 
petent persons,  and  a  course  of  instruction  in  nursing  is  given  for  the 
benefit  of  the  older  girls  who  desire  to  follow  nursing  as  a  profession.  A 
textbook  on  infant  care  and  nursing  is  used,  and  practical  experience  is 
afforded  in  the  hospital  and  nursery  under  the  direction  of  a  competent 
physician  and  trained  nurses. 

While  the  entire  organization  of  the  institution  is  educational  in  its 
intent,  the  educational  center,  as  I  have  said,  is  in  the  day  school.  The 
work  as  at  present  planned  includes  the  first  seven  grades.  The  studies 
prescribed  correspond  closely  to  those  required  in  the  Owatonna  city  schools 
which  our  older  and  more  advanced  pupils  who  remain  attend  for  eighth 
grade  and  high  school  work.  The  faculty  of  ten  grade  teachers  includes  two 
industrial  teachers,  a  physical  director,  a  music  teacher  and  librarian  who 
has  special  classes  for  backward  children. 

The  library  includes  3,000  well  selected  Books  and  is  a  very  important 
feature  of  our  school  work.  More  than  any  other  means  the  library  is  a 
factor  in  establishing  in  the  lives  of  the  children  a  permanent  interest  in 
good  books,  good  pictures,  and  those  things  of  the  mind  which  have  been 
entirely  lacking  in  their  previous  experience. 

Home  life  in  the  institution  is  made  attractive.  For  instance,  in  the 
cottage  occupied  by  the  older  boys  each  boy  has  his  'own  room,  which  he 
cares  for  under  the  direction  of  his  matron.  There  is  a  reading  and  game 
room  and  a  very  attractive  court  where,  before  an  open  fire  on  winter  eve- 
nings, the  boys  gather  to  pop  corn,  tell  stories  and  converse.  The  younger 
children  sleep  in  dormitories  and  have  group  play  rooms. 

All  of  these  things  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  after  career  and 
after  life  of  the  children  placed  in  homes.  The  curriculum  and  entire  or- 
ganization is  designed  to  promote  the  placing-out  work,  and  the  training  of 
the  children  during  the  months  they  are  in  the  institution  is  preparatory 
to  their  early  transfer  to  homes  or  self-supporting  employment. 

The  placing-out  method  is  generally  accepted  as  the  best  method  of 
caring  permanently  for  dependent  normal  children  when  wisely  administered, 
but  it  is  subject  to  grave  abuses  when  unwisely  administered.  Constant 
care  and  watchfulness  and  an  adequate  system  of  supervision  and  record- 
keeping  have  been  practiced  as  safeguards  by  the  State  Public  School. 


Extensive  field  work  is  done  by  a  corps  of  state  agents  in  investigating 
the  homes  of  applicants  for  children  and  selecting  a  new  environment  for 
them,  and  in  investigating  their  condition  and  progress  after  they  have  been 
placed  in  the  new  environment.  A  personal  visit  is  made  to  the  home  or 
every  applicant  before  it  is  approved  for  a  child,  and  the  selection  of  the 
child  is  made  by  the  agent  who  visits  the  home  in  order  that  the  tempera- 
ment, characteristics  and  religious  affiliations  of  the  child  selected  may  be 
in  harmony  with  what  he  has  learned  of  the  home.  The  fitting  of  the  child 
and  the  home  together  with  discrimination  has  a  very  important  bearing 
upon  the  whole  after  life  of  the  child,  and  the  whole  question  of  after  care 
and  supervision  is  simplified  if  the  fitness  of  the  home  has  been  thoroughly 
canvassed  and  a  child  selected  who  is  adapted  to  it. 

,  All  but  four  of  the  eighty-six  counties  of  the  state  have  utilized  the 
State  Public  School  in  meeting  their  problems  of  child  dependency  by  plac- 
ing 6,063  children  in  its  care,  the  most  of  whom  have  been  placed  in 
family  homes  to  the  mutual  advantage  of  themselves  and  of  their  foster 
parents.  One  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-one  are  now  under  the 
school's  guardianship;  337  in  the  school,  and  nearly  four  times  that  number, 
1,294,  in  homes  or  in  self-supporting  employment.  These  figures  indicate 
the  relative  number  of  children  in  the  school  and  in  homes  for  the  last 
five  years.  The  average  length  of  time  children  remain  in  the  school  is 
eight  months,  while  the  average  length  of  time  they  remain  under  super- 
vision is  seven  years.  These  figures  indieate  something  of  the  magnitude 
and  importance  of  the  field  work  and  after  care  of  the  children  placed  out. 

While  the  state  maintains  the  State  Public  School  under  its  direct  con- 
trol, it  also  fosters  and  protects  private  effort  in  behalf  of  dependent  chil- 
dren by  licensing  private  institutions  and  agencies  to  care  for  them.  It  is 
by  law  made  the  duty  of  the  'State  Board  of  Control  to  pass  annually 
upon  the  fitness  of  institutions  desiring  to  care  for  children.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  State  Public  School  and  its  placing-out  system  has  resulted  in 
changing  somewhat  the  function  of  some  of  the  private  institutions.  They 
have  become  places  for  the  temporary  care  of  children  whose  parents  may 
need  to  place  them  in  an  institution  temporarily  and  perhaps  pay  a  small 
amount  weekly  towards  their  support  until  they  can  take  them  and  care 
for  them  again  themselves.  A  plan  of  co-operation  between  the  State  Pub- 
lic School  and  these  institutions  has  been  developed  whereby  children  who 
are  permanently  dependent  and  are  to  be  placed  in  homes  are  transferred 
from  such  institutions  to  the  school.  It  has  been  the  practice  of  some  of 
the  judges  to  place  children  temporarily  in  private  institutions  pending  a 
final  decree  of  the  court  assigning  their  permanent  guardianship  to  the; 
state.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  Children's  Home  of  Duluth.  A  large 
majority  of  the  many  children  committed  to  the  schools  from  St.  Louis  county 
have  been  previously  cared  for  temporarily  in  that  institution.  The  Wash- 
burn  Home  of  Minneapolis  also  has  sought  co-operation  with  this  school, 
it  being  the  desire  of  the  management  to  transfer  such  of  its  children  as  are 
too  old  to  remain  there  under  the  terms  of  its  founder's  will,  but  too  young 
to  be  discharged  to  self-support  without  further  supervision. 

.  There  has  been  indicated  a  reasonable  and  satisfactory  division  of  the 
field  in  child-saving- work  as  between. state  and  private  agencies..  There  is 

10 


a  very  important  field  of  work  for  private  institutions.  It  seems  to  me  that 
it  is  natural  and  proper  for  private  institutions  to  care  for  children  tem- 
porarily, pending  the  re-establishment  of  the  home.  There  is  a  considerable 
number  of  children  in  the  school  whose  stay  must  be  prolonged  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  courts  that  sent  them  to  give  the  parents  a  chance  to  re- 
establish their  homes.  The  reuniting  of  families  is  a  noble  service  and  one 
which  it  seems  to  me  might  well  engage  the  attention  of  private  institu- 
tions. Some  of  the  child  welfare  boards  are  co-operating  with  the  school 
to  the  end  that  children  who  are  to  be  returned  to  their  parents  may  be 
cared  for  in  approved  private  institutions,  and  those  found  to  be  permanently 
dependent  sent  to  the  school  to  be  cared  for  under  the  continuing  guardian- 
ship of  the  state. 

The  law  of  1917  authorizing  the  commitment  of  defective  children  to 
the  State  Board  of  Control  has  had  an  unforeseen  effect  upon  admissions 
to  this  school.  Under  an  evident  misinterpretation  of  the  law,  and  contrary 
to  the  terms  plainly  stated  in  the  law  governing  admissions  to  the  school, 
some  of  the  counties  have  sent  children  who  were  obviously  improper  sub- 
jects, some  of  them  being  feeble-minded,  some  diseased,  and  some  other- 
wise unfit;  leaving  to  us  the  problem  of  transferring  them  to  some  other 
institution  or  disposing  of  them  in  some  other  way;  and  in  the  meantime 
incumbering  the  school  with  children  who  cannot  be  placed  in  homes  and 
who  can  never  profit  by  the  training  facilities  provided  for  normal  children. 
The  purpose  of  this  school  being  to  provide  a  temporary  home  and  such 
training  as  will  fit  children  to  take  their  places  in  homes  where  normal 
social  relations  shall  be  re-established,  the  commitment  to  it  of  mentally 
defective  children  cripples  vitally  the  service  it  is  able  to  render  to  the 
community.  In  the  first  place  such  children  can  never  be  rehabilitated 
socially  as  they  will  always  need  supervision  and  will  be  incapable  of  com- 
peting on  equal  terms  with  their  normal  fellows  or  of  managing  their  af- 
fairs with  ordinary  prudence.  In  the  second  place,  if  they  are  maintained 
at  the  institution  they  not  only  usurp  the  places  of  children  who  could 
profit  by  its  training,  but  are  themselves  unsettled  and  discontented.  It  is 
obviously  bad  for  normal  children  to  be  associated  with  feeble-minded  chil- 
dren, over  whom  they  domineer.  They  are  likely  to  "pick"  on  the  weaker 
ones  and  lead  them  into  all  sort  of  trouble.  The  feeble-minded  child  be- 
comes discouraged  because  he  is  always  behind  the  rest  in  school.  He  is  a 
disorderly  element  in  the  schoolroom  and  a  misfit  everywhere,  is  restless 
and  unhappy.  In  the  third  place,  the  presence  of  such  children  jeopardizes 
the  placing-out  work  by  undermining  the  confidence  of  the  public  in  the  in- 
stitution as  a  distributing  point  for  normal  children. 

The  State  Public  School  is  not  a  hospital  for  the  treatment  of  diseased 
children.  It  is  not  an  asylum  for  the  feeble-minded  and  incurables,  nor  is  it 
a  reform  school  for  incorrigible  children.  When  such  children  are  sent 
there,  our  only  recourse,  provided  by  law,  is  to  return  them  to  the  counties 
which  sent  them.  A  large  number  of  feeble-minded  children  have  been 
sent  there,  but  fortunately  during  the  last  year  we  have  been  able  to  trans- 
fer sixty-seven  to  the  School  for  the  Feeble-minded.  It  would  have  been 
better  for  the  State  Public  School  if  they  had  not  been  sent  there  at  all,  but 
sent  directly  to  the  School  for  Feeble-minded  from  their  home  counties. 

11 


We  want  to  co-operate  with  the  county  child  welfare  boards  and  with 
every  worthy  agency  that  exists  for  helping  children  in  Minnesota. 

The  school  is  at  your  service.  It  may  be  used  by  every  county  in  the 
state  in  helping  such  children  as  come  within  the  scope  of  its  work. 

William  Hodson,  Director,  Children's  Bureau:  May  I  ask  one  question 
of  Mr.  Merrill  at  this  time?  I  think  Mr.  Merrill  has  answered  the  ques- 
tion I  am  going  to  ask,  but  I  ask  it  again  because  there  has  been  so  much 
misunderstanding  on  the  point. 

The  question  is,  when  a  child  is  committed  to  the  care  and  custody  of 
the  State  Public  iSchool  at  Owatonna,  does  that  abrogate  the  rights  of  the 
parent  of  that  child,  and  does  it  give  to  the  State  Public  School  the  entire 
right  so  far  as  the  future  disposition  of  the  child  is  concerned? 

Mr.  Merrill:  It  does,  Mr.  Hodson,  the  state  stands  in  the  place  of  the 
parent,  and  is  authorized  by  law  to  place  it  in  a  home  and  consent  to  its 
legal  adoption. 

Florence  Monahan,  Agent,  Children's  Bureau:  I  should  like  to  ask  Mr. 
Merrill  with  regard  to  regulations  for  receiving  infants  in  the  State  Public 
School. 

Mr.  Merrill:  To  prevent  the  sending  of  more  babies  to  the  school  than 
can  be  accommodated,  the  law  states  that  before  a  child  under  one  year  of 
age  is  committed,  a  statement  is  to  be  obtained  from  the  superintendent 
to  the  effect  that  there  is  room  for  it  and  that  it  can  be  cared  for  there. 

Evan  Hughes,  Judge  of  Probate,  Mankato:  Dr.  Merrill  said  that  he  had 
transferred  fifty-nine  children  from  the  Owatonna  School  to  the  School  for 
Feeble-minded.  A  matter  came  up  before  me  a  few  days  ago  that  required 
the  disposition  of  some  feeble-minded  children,  and  the  question  with  me 
was,  what  to  do.  If  I  committed  them  to  Faribault,  why  Faribault  would  re- 
fuse to  take  them  because  they  are  over-crowded.  If  I  committed  them  to 
Owatonna  there  was  a  better  chance  of  getting  them  into  Faribault. 

Mr.  Merrill:  I  will  say  that  through  the  State  Board  of  Control  we 
were  able  to  relieve  the  situation  at  Owatonna.  Perhaps  the  sixty-seven 
children  transferred  to  the  School  for  Feeble-minded  were  considered  as 
special  cases.  It  was  necessary  for  the  probate  court  at  Owatonna  to  be 
called  in  to  commit  them  under  the  new  law  governing  admissions  to  the 
School  at  Faribault.  We  did  this  and,  after  taking  the  matter  up  with  the 
Board  and  Mr.  Hanna,  room  was  made  for  them  at  the  Faribault  school  td 
relieve  the  crowded  situation  at  our  school,  and  to  remove  from  the  school 
children  who  did  not  belong  there. 

Judge  Hughes  is  not  the  only  one  who  has  had  the  idea  that  the  easiest 
way  to  get  a  child  into  the  Faribault  school  was  to  send  it  to  Owatonna. 

Mrs.  James  Sanderson,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Willmar:  I  should  like  to 
ask  what  we  can  do  with  the  feeble-minded  children  when  they  ought  to  be 
sent  away,  when  there  is  not  a  chance  to  get  them  into  Faribault.  Is  there 
anywhere  else  we  can  get  reljef  ? 

Mr.  Vasaly:  The  obvious  answer  is  that  you  may  commit  them  to  the 
Board  of  Control  and  transfer  your  worries  and  anxieties  to  that  board. 

We  hope  to  be  able  in  some  of  those  cases,  at  least,  unless  they  are  ex- 
treme, to  make  other  arrangements.  There  are  cases  of  that  kind  where  the 
person  can  toe  cared  for  at  home,  if  they  understand  its  condition,  or  may  be 

12 


placed  in  some  other  home  and  be  cared  for  temporarily  until  conditions 
warrant  transfer  to  Faribault. 

Of  course  every  person  who  is  feeble-minded  cannot  be  sent  to  Fari- 
bault, even  those  who  perhaps  ought  to  be  there.  The  School  for  Feeble- 
minded had  two  or  three  day  ago,  when  I  was  there,  1,730  inmates.  It  is 
the  largest  institution  in  the  state  of  Minnesota  under  our  charge. 

We  feel  that  it  is  possible,  with  some  understanding  of  the  problem, 
in  many  cases  to  mitigate  circumstances  by  taking  the  person  away  from 
the  surroundings  where  perhaps  he  is  not  understood,  or  is  neglected,  and 
placing  him  with  some  one  else  who  may  perhaps  understand  him  better. 
One  of  the  things  we  are  trying  to  do  is  to  teach  the  community  what  that 
problem  means  and  to  co-operate  with  local  boards  and  local  workers  in 
doing  something  about  it.  Sending  feeble-minded  persons  to  the  school  at 
Owatonna  is  not  exactly  the  proper  way  of  getting  at  the  problem. 

We  had  a  case  of  that  kind  where  the  father  and  mother  were  sent  to 
the  Fergus  Falls  'State  Hospital  and  their  eleven  children  were  sent  to  Mr. 
Merrill,  and  he  had  to  transfer  nine  of  them  to  Faribault.  Now  that  is  a 
pretty  serious  matter.  Those  of  you  familiar  with  the  work  at  the  school 
at  Owatonna  know  that  that  is  not  the  way  to  create  right  standards  at  the 
school,  yet  I  do  not  blame  the  judges  so  very  much,  after  all,  because  it  is 
a  problem  that  confronts  them,  and  they  endeavor  to  solve  it  the  best  way 
they  know  how. 

Mrs.  S.  H.  Johnson,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Appleton:  One  child  that  we 
had  in  our  county  was  received  from  its  home  by  the  judge  of  probate. 
The  grandparents  were  unable  to  care  for  it,  the  mother  being  feeble-minded 
and  the  father  unknown.  We  applied  for  its  admission  to  Owatonna,  but 
they  reported  that  they  had  no  room  for  the  child.  Because  of  its  undoubt- 
ful  history,  the  home-finding  societies  did  not  want  to  take  it  and  the  county 
had  no  institution  of  its  own. 

Mr.  Vasaly:  Again  the  obvious  answer  is  to  report  the  circumstances 
and  the  facts  to  the  State  Board  of  Control,  and  it  will  do  what  it  can  under 
existing  laws  to  help  you  out  of  your  dilemma, 

Mrs.  Johnson:    iMay  I  say  that  we  have  even  tried  that? 

Mr.  Vasaly:  If  you  tried  that  and  failed,  I  must  confess  that  I  really 
do  not  know  what  to  tell  you  to  do;  but  then,  you  know,  conditions  change, 
and  perhaps  what  we  were  not  able  to  do  yesterday  we  may  be  able  to 
do  tomorrow. 

Mr.  Hodson:  The  question  is  illustrative  of  the  situation  as  it  exists 
in  Minnesota  at  the  present  time.  We  have  our  institutions  for  the  delin- 
quent; we  have  them  for  the  dependent  normal  children;  we  have  them  for 
the  feeble-minded;  but  there  is  a  certain  residuum  for  whom  there  is  no 
institutional  provision.  Frequently  cases  of  that  sort  are  reported  to  the 
State  Board  of  Control.  For  the  child,  for  instance,  who  is  non-placeable  be- 
cause of  some  physical  defect,  and  who  is  suspected  of  being  mentally  de- 
fective in  some  way  or  other,  there  is  no  institutional  care,  and  when  such; 
cases  are  reported  the  only  thing  that  we  can  do  is  to  make  shift  and  try 
some  temporary  provision. 

J.  N.  Tate,  Superintendent,  School  for  the  Deaf:  Just  a  word  in  refer- 
ence to  the  commitment  of  children  to  the  School  for  the  Deaf.  I  may  say 
that  Mr.  Merrill  does  not  enjoy  a  unique  position  in  that  matter.  I  could 

13 


fill  our  school  up  with  five  or  six  hundred  children  in  a  short  time  if  I 
should  receive  children  who  come  to  us  because  they  are  dumb  and  not 
deaf.  That  mistake  is  made  by  the  good  doctors  of  the  country.  I  am 
not  knocking  the  doctors.  They  do,  perhaps,  more  philanthropic  work  than 
any  other  class  of  men;  but  in  order  to  get  rid  of  those  cases,  I  think  they 
say:  "Well,  they  teach  the  children  to  speak  at  Faribault.  Your  child 
can't  speak;  therefore  take  him  to  Faribault  and  they  will  take  him  in  arid 
make  a  normal  child  of  him." 

I  want  to  say  to  this  exceptional  audience  that  it  is  going  to  be  within 
your  power  to  give  advice  as  to  where  children  shall  be  taken.  If  you  ever 
find  a  child  that  is  dumb  and  still  has  normal  hearing,  you  can  set  that  child 
down  as  mentally  defective;  he  does  not  belong  to  the  School  for  the  Deaf. 
Our  methods  do  not  reach  mentally  defective  children.  I  have  never  seen 
a  child  whose  organs  of  speech  were  perfect — and,  by  the  way,  they  are 
nearly  always  perfect — who  could  hear  well  and  could  not  speak,  whose 
mental  make-up  was  at  all  normal.  Don't  send  them  to  us,  if  you  please; 
set  them  down  as  defective  mentally. 

Otto  H.  J.  Brauer,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Mahnomen:  We  have  rather 
difficult  work  in  our  county,  which  is  situated  in  the  White  Earth  Reserva- 
tion. The  greater  part  of  our  people  are  mixed-blood  and  full-blood  Indians. 
I  should  like  to  ask  whether  these  children  can  be  placed  in  our  state  in- 
stitutions? 

Mr.  Merrill:    We  take  children  of  any  color,  race,  or  nationality. 

Mr.  Vasaly:  It  is  true  of  all  institutions,  but  there  are  certain  tribal  and 
federal  laws,  as  the  gentlemen  knows,  which  make  the  situation  a  little 
different  up  at  White  Earth.  Mr.  Hodson  had  occasion  a  little  while  ago 
to  make  certain  investigations  up  there. 

Mr.  Hodson:  Mr.  Brauer  will  recall  that  the  difficulty  was  to  get  the 
federal  government  to  agree  to  a  proper  method  of  disposition  of  the  funds 
which  were  held  in  the  tribal  treasury  for  these  children.  The  county  re- 
fused to  grant  county  allowances  so  long  as  these  children  had  money  due 
them  from  the  federal  government.  I  understand  that  the  situation  has 
cleared  up. 

Amalia  Bengtson,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Olivia:  I  want  to  bring  up  the 
question  of  the  number  of  feebleminded  children  of  school  age  who  are 
yearly  drifting  through  our  schools  and  getting  very  little  attention  from  the 
regular  teacher,  and  therefore  not  being  trained  in  any  way.  I  should  like 
to  ask  in  how  many  places  outside  the  large  cities  there  are  special  teachers 
employed  for  these  children.  A  provision  is  made  by  our  law  whereby 
a  special  teacher  can  be  employed. 

Mr.  Vasaly:  I  do  not  know  whether  there  is  anyone  here  who  can  an- 
swer that,  but  this  afternoon  Mr.  Ohallman  is  to  speak  on  compulsory  school 
laws.  He  takes  the  place  of  Mr.  Phillips,  who  cannot  be  here. 

There  surely  is  no  problem  of  greater  importance  than  that  of  the 
delinquent  girl,  and  the  delinquent  girl  is  not  necessarily  the  evil  girl.  We 
have  an  institution  which  is  helping,  I  think,  to  solve  that  problem,  which 
stands  out  among  institutions  of  that  kind  all  over  this  country,  whose  su- 
perintendent has  done  a  most  notable  work  there.  I  am  very  glad  to  pre- 
sent to  you  Mrs.  Morse,  superintendent  of  the  Home  School  for  Girls,  Sauk 
Centre. 

14 


THE  HOME  SCHOOL  FOR  GIRLS— SAUK  CENTRE 

Fannie  French  Morse,  Superintendent. 

As  has  been  indicated  by  our  chairman,  the  purpose  of  the  program  this 
morning  is  to  put  you  in  touch  with  our  state  institutions  working  with  chil- 
dren; a  most  fitting  program,  since  it  would  seem  as  if  no  state  official,  no 
body,  no  individual,  should  send  to  an  institution  any  child  unless  that  indi- 
vidual or  that  organization  has  a  knowledge  of  the  institution. 

Now,  that  I  may  keep  to  my  subject,  that  I  may  show  you  in  a  more 
intensive  way  the  purpose  of  our  institution  and  possibly  something  of  the 
atmosphere  there,  I  am  going  to  read  and  not  talk. 

Our  Minnesota  Home  School,  located  at  Sauk  Centre,  represents  our 
state  institution  for  delinquent  girls.  Since  it  is  under  the  juvenile  courts 
of  the  state,  it  is  a  corrective,  not  a  penal  institution.  The  age  of  commit- 
ment is  from  eight  to  eighteen  years.  On  petition  or  complaint  of  parent, 
guardian,  or  officer  of  law,  any  girl  between  eight  and  eighteen  can  be 
brought  for  hearing  into  juvenile  court  or  such  local  court  as  shall  take  the 
place  in  that  community  of  the  juvenile  court.  If  found  guilty  of  incorrigi- 
bility,  immorality,  vagrancy,  larceny,  or  any  similar  offense  under  delin- 
quent laws,  she  can  be  committed  to  our  institution.  Nor  is  actual  offense 
always  a  necessity  in  commitment.  There  are  cases  on  record  in  which 
girls  have  been  sent  to  us  on  charge  of  "in  danger  of  becoming  delinquent, 
incorrigible,  immoral." 

By  law  the  commitment  of  the  girl  to  our  institution  is  for  the  term  of 
her  minority,  or  until  twenty-one.  Such  commitment  can  be,  and  often  is, 
stayed  by  the  court  pending  a  probation  for  improved  conduct.  While  Dy 
law  all  commitments  must  be  "until  the  age  of  twenty-one,"  by  action  of 
the  Board  of  Control  and  ratification  l)y  the  court  originally  committing 
her,  the  girl  can  be  discharged  from  the  custody  of  the  institution  prior  to 
that  age.  Again,  while  committed  until  twenty-one,  the  average  stay  of  the 
girl  in  the  institution  is  found  to  be  a  year  and  a  half,  at  which  average 
time,  following  an  intensive  training  in  the  institution,  the  girl,  on  recom- 
mendation of  the  superintendent,  is  paroled  by  the  Board,  either  to  her  own 
home  or  to  a  home  or  occupation  of  the  state's  finding. 

Ours  is  one  of  the  newer  institutions;  established  in  1908;  the  site 
cleared  of  timber  in  May,  1910;  and  the  first  sod  broken  for  building  in 
July  of  that  same  year.  In  June,  1911,  the  first  family  cottages,  four  in 
number,  were  opened.  From  the  girls'  department  of  the  Red  Wing  Train- 
ing School  for  Boys,  where  up  to  that  time  the  delinquent  girls  of  the  state 
had  been  cared  for,  were  transferred  to  these  cottages  60  girls.  Today 
there  are  in  our  school  at  Sauk  Centre  310  girls,  with  270  under  our  care  in 
the  community,  making  a  moving  population  of  nearly  600  girls. 

The  motive  of  the  institution  is  educational  and  constructive;  its  at- 
tempt, a  social  readjustment  of  the  girl,  who,  through  disadvantages,  has 
become  a  social  offender  or  social  misfit;  its  purpose,  the  making  of  decent 
wives  and  mothers 'and  home-makers  and  useful  citizens;  by  parental  care  to 

15 


fill  the  gap  between  the  disqualified  home  and  a  more  disqualified  social 
condition. 

Our  institution  is  built  on  what  is  known  as  the  cottage  plan,  which 
means  that  instead  of  the  congregate  system  of  one  or  two  buildings,  hous- 
ing several  hundred,  we  have  a  larger  number  of  smaller  buildings,  or  cot- 
tages, built  to  house  twenty  each.  Each  such  cottage  represents  an  inde- 
pendent family  unit  or  group,  in  all  its  living  processes  complete  in  itself. 
In  other  words,  each  cottage  has  its  own  separate  living  arrangements; 
family  room,  dining  room,  kitchen,  and  individual  sleeping  rooms  for  both 
helpers  and  girls.  All  the  sewing,  cooking  and  laundry  work  for  that  fam- 
ily is  done  in  its  family  cottage.  In  addition  to  these  family  cottages,  scat- 
tered over  a  large  acreage  of  open  space  and  woodland,  are  such  central 
buildings  as  the  administration  building,  hospital,  chapel,  and  farm  build- 
ings. To  these  are  to  be  added,  by  act  of  the  legislature  just  adjourned,  a 
central  school  building  and  a  farm  industries  building. 

Mention  should  here  be  made  of  our  colony  for  the  young  unmarried 
mother.  A  mile  and  a  half  from  the  institution  proper  we  h.ave,  within  the 
last  three  years,  acquired  160  acres  of  farm  land,  this  to  be  developed  into 
a  small  community  for  these  little  mothers.  Added  to  this  group,  supple- 
menting and  humanizing  the  one  the  other,  is  to  be  placed  in  this  colony 
,yet  another  group  of  our  girls.  I  refer  to  those  who,  because  of  mental 
defect,  should  not  be  returned  to  the  community,  but  who,  detained  longer 
in  the  institution,  are  finding  their  interest  in  their  usefulness,  and  are  be- 
coming valuable  producers  for  the  institution.  The  latter  we  term  the  non- 
social  group.  Already  a  hospital  cottage  for  the  young  mothers  is  occupied 
at  our  Brookdale  Farm.  Other  buildings  will  this  year  be  added.  Here 
the  expectant  young  mother  is  trained  for  her  new  responsibilities,  and  here 
she  remains  with  her  child  until  suitable  provision  can  be  made  for  the  after- 
life of  both.  It  is  our  policy  to  keep,  so  far  as  possible,  the  mother  and 
child  together,  we  assisting  to  self-support  and  self-respect  through  the  in- 
dependence self-support  engenders. 

The  advantages  of  the  cottage  system  over  the  old  congregate  plan  are 
many.  Among  the  most  important  of  these  are:  First,  that  protection  to 
the  individual  girl  which  the  segregation  into  small  groups  classified  accord- 
ing to  former  experience  and  offense  represents;  thus  protecting  girls  of  one 
career  from  girls  of  another.  To  bring  together  promiscuously,  as  in  the 
old  institution,  large  groups  under  that  close  contact  which  life  in  an  insti- 
tution represents  and  well  nigh  forces,  scarcely  falls  short  of  a  crime.  So 
complete  is  our  segregation  that  many  a  girl,  on  the  completion  of  her 
training,  goes  out  from  our  institution  ignorant  of  the  names  of  the  mass  of 
girls  outside  her  cottage  group.  Second,  the  small  group  makes  possible 
that  individual  study  and  training  of  the  girl  which  is  so  supreme  a  factor 
In  character  building.  Again,  the  cottage  system  alone  guarantees  a  de- 
gree of  natural  living  in  the  institution  which  will  train  for  life  in  the  com- 
munity. 

Our  whole  thought  is  the  making  of  citizens;  then,  so  far  as  possible, 
our  attempt  should  be  those  processes  within  the  institution  which  char- 
acterize society.  That  the  cottage  system  is  more  expensive  than  the  con- 
gregate, and  a  system  demanding  greater  care  in  management,  is  non-de* 

16 


batable  among  institutional  builders.  'Tis  a  well  recognized  fact  that  every 
added  division  of  numbers  represents  added  cost  of  maintenance,  but  that 
system  or  that  training  which  best  fulfills  its  motive  becomes,  in  the  final 
analysis,  the  most  economic.  Good  citizenship  is  the  state's  greatest  asset. 

Founded  on  the  belief  that  the  average  delinquent  is  a  product  of 
natural  forces  and  as  such  is  disadvantaged  rather  than  the  commonly 
termed  "bad,"  our  school  is  organized  for  opportunity,  not  punishment. 

Nearly  every  girl  comes  to  us  because  of  a  lack  in  the  home,  our  aver- 
age girl  being  as  devoid  of  "home  sense"  as  is  many  a  citizen  of  "com- 
munity sense."  Society's  greatest  need  today  is  the  home.  Paramount  tq 
every  other,  then,  the  motive  in  the  training  of  an  institution  of  delinquent 
girls  should  be  toward  a  development  of  the  home  sense.  In  our  girls'  school 
the  home  is  made  always  the  perspective  point;  a  means  to  a  persistent  and 
intensified  effort  to  grow  in  the  girl  this  home  sense;  a  consciousness  of 
the  possibilities  of  a  home,  a  desire  for  it;  and  this  desire  created,  how  to 
fulfill  it.  The  home  as  a  factor  in  the  building  of  women,  not  the  school  as 
an  organization,  is  constantly  emphasized;  womanhood,  motherhood,  citizen- 
ship. 

Greatest  stress  is  laid  upon  this  family  unit;  in  fact,  the  school  re- 
solves itself  into  intensified  home  groups,  held  together  by  a  common  good. 
To  intensify  the  home  sense,  every  process  of  family  support  is  met  within 
each  cottage.  It  adds  to  unity  that  all  the  sewing  for  the  family  be  done 
by  members  of  that  family;  it  intensifies  the  common  interest  of  the  family 
that  three  times  a  day  the  meals  for  the  family  must  be  met  in  that  family, 
each  girl  in  turn  having  a  hand  in  the  preparation  of  those  meals;  it  co- 
ordinates the  family  that  all  its  forces  must  meet,  whether  in  the  laundry, 
the  kitchen,  the  entertainment  room,  or  the  cottage  garden,  each  lending  to 
the  necessity  of  the  other. 

Every  effort  is  bent  to  the  growing  of  the  home  sense.  This  developed, 
how  is  it  met?  First  of  all  the  home  and  home-making  must  be  made  pos- 
sible to  the  girl;  and  to  the  average  girl  who  will  marry  a  wage-earning  hus- 
band, it  must  be  made  possible  within  small  means.  The  small  means  must 
cover  not  only  the  decent,  but  the  attractive  home;  to  appeal,  it  must  at- 
tract. Whether  in  food  values  in  the  kitchen,  fabrics  in  the  sewing  room, 
or  in  the  department  of  home  decorative  arts,  her  whole  domestic  training 
has  resolved  itself  into  a  training  in  home  economics.  Our  thought  is  to 
get  much  from  little,  using  the  commonest  materials  which  lie  closest  about 
us,  and  which,  because  so  common  and  so  near,  are  commonly  ignored.  In 
all  departments  the  ordinary  household  duties  are  glorified.  The  girl's 
first  loaf  of  bread  is  to  her  a  greater  pride  than  is  many  a  college  diploma. 
The  value  of  attractive  dress  is  emphasized  and  not  repudiated.  Since  it 
is  so  universal,  so  instinctive  for  woman  to  bedeck  herself,  it  n/ist  be  God- 
given!  Hopeless  the  attempt  to  choke  it!  It  must  be  directed,  not  ignored. 
The  importance  of  personal  appearance  is  emphasized  as  not  only  legiti- 
mate but  a  personal  responsibility. 

Much  of  normal  life  prevails  in  our  institution.  How  else  could  it  fit 
for  outside  living?  There  is  happiness  and  much  of  trouble  in  our  free 
life,  each  working  out  its  results. 

17 


A  steadily  increasing  number  of  girls  attend  the  city  schools;  in  former 
years  going  back  and  forth  each  day  from  their  institution  home.  This 
year,  owing  to  seriously  crowded  conditions  in  the  institution,  two  resi- 
dences in  the  town  have  been  rented.  These  constitute  housing  and  home 
for  our  over  thirty  girls  who  are  a  part  of  the  public  schools  of  our  city. 
There  they  are  becoming  leaders  in  the  school  affairs,  some  serving  as 
clerks  in  the  office  of  the  superintendent  of  the  schools,  others  having  been 
from  time  to  time  employed  in  other  capacities  in  the  town.  These  girls, 
a  part  of  the  public  schools,  have  become  truly  a  part,  sharing  in  the 
social  activities  of  the  school,  attending  lectures,  contributing  to  the  de- 
bates, leading  some  of  their  classes.  Two  years  ago  the  valedictorian  of 
the  class  graduating  from  the  high  school  was  one  of  our  girls.  She  has 
since  successfully  taken  up  college  work. 

Many  girls  have  been  allowed  to  go  alone  to  their  homes  for  visits  vary- 
ing in  length  from  one  or  two  days  to  one  or  two  weeks.  Since  love  is  a 
part  of  life,  there  are  lovers  and  engagement  rings,  linen  showers  and  wed- 
ding breakfasts,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage. 

Great  out-of-door  freedom  there  has  been  at  all  times;  farm  work  and 
gardens,  planting  of  shrubbery  and  trees,  mowing  of  lawns,  and  the  care 
of  the  flower  beds  and  driveways.  From  our  first  thought  of  this  great 
out-of-doors  as  a  means  of  humanizing  the  girl,  and,  in  her  producing  power, 
a  means  by  which  to  eliminate  the  danger  of  the  creation  within  her  of 
dependency,  there  has  developed  a  project  which  represents  today  a  very 
material  asset  in  the  maintenance  of  our  institution.  I  refer  to  the  actual 
production  which  the  farm  labor  of  our  girls  today  represents.  This  last 
year  over  nine  hundred  acres  were  cared  for;  over  five  hundred  acres  of 
this  under  field  and  garden  cultivation.  Vegetables  in  large  variety,  milk, 
butter,  cheese,  ham  and  bacon,  have  been  produced  in  quantities  beyond 
our  own  consumption;  this  largely  the  work  of  the  girls.  Thousands  of 
quarts  of  vegetables  have  been  canned,  and  many  bushels  dried.  Under 
stress  of  high  food  costs,  our  tables  have  been  abundantly  supplied  with 
good,  nourishing  food  at  a  minimum  cost  of  food  supplies  purchased.  Aside 
from  the  material  value  which  the  work  of  their  hands  represents,  there 
can  be  nothing  more  humanizing  than  this  close  touch  with  growing  things. 
Nothing  so  eliminates  the  creation  of  dependency  as  for  the  inmate  of  an 
institution  to  feel  that  he  must  produce  as  well  as  consume. 

Picnics  and  walks  are  many.  Added  to  these  are  the  pleasures  which 
our  lake  affords:  boating,  fishing,  and  swimming.  Baseball  as  a  sport  has, 
with  them,  no  rival. 

Possibly  the  method  which  most  characterizes  our  work  is  our  wage- 
earning  system.  Besides  its  educational  value,  it  has  proved  our  chief  source 
of  discipline.  Every  girl,  on  her  commitment  to  the  school,  is  for  a  month 
in  dependency.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  she  takes  her  position  as  a 
member  of  the  family  and  a  citizen  in  our  community.  She  is  allowed  food 
and  shelter,  but  beyond  that  she  must  earn  her  support  in  the  community. 
Her  own  room  she  must  care  for;  her  own  personal  needs,  sewing,  laun- 
dry and  personal  care  she  must  meet.  Aside  from  these  she  is  assigned 
special  family  duties.  For  these  duties  she  is  paid  according  to  amount  and 
skill. 

IS 


'Since  she  finds  her  training  in  doing,  the  wage  is  small.  The  same  com- 
petition which  enters  into  employment  outside  is  recognized  in  our  system. 
We  have  our  own  legal  tender;  no  other  money  is  accredited.  Girls  are 
paid  for  their  service  and  fined  for  family  or  social  offense.  At  the  end 
of  each  week  each  girl  presents  her  bill  for  services  rendered  during  the 
week;  from  this  is  deducted  any  fines  for  misconduct,  for  inferior  labor,  for 
destruction  of  property,  such  as  breakage  of  dishes  or  similar  destruction. 
She  is  fined  for  any  trespass  against  property  rights.  A  deduction  of  fines 
made,  she  is  paid  the  balance.  From  this  she  must  support  herself,  clothing 
herself  from  the  store,  paying  for. luxuries  or  services  rendered  in  the  fam- 
ily or  community. 

Every  week  the  girls  shop  in  our  little  store  connected  with  the  in- 
stitution. Each  can  buy  according  to  her  means.  She  must  practice  close 
economy,  and  for  the  first  time  she  learns  that  even  institution  clothes  cost 
money  and  are  well  worth  buying  and  caring  for.  A  girl's  shoes  last  longer 
if  she  earns  them.  If  she  can  not  afford  the  prettier  piece  of  dress  goods, 
she  must  buy  the  less  attractive;  if  no  trimmings,  she  must  go  without. 
It  is  not  human  nature  for  a  girl  to  long  put  up  with  such  conditions  if  she 
can  right  them.  If  she  cannot  make  her  own  "clothes,  she  must  pay  another 
for  making  them;  if  she  is  not  willing  to  attend  to  her  own  laundry;  she 
must  pay  another  for  its  care.  If  she  cannot  pay  for  a  ticket  to  a  school 
entertainment,  she  must  stay  at  home.  The  other  afternoon  no  debtor 
was  allowed  to  attend  the  town  matinee.  There  is  a  debtor's  table  on  which 
no  desserts  or  sweets  appear.  There  is  hardly  a  phase  of  community  life 
this  system  fails  to  touch.  It  is  educational  since  it  teaches  accounting, 
each  girl  having  to  kep  her  debts  and  credits  and  balance  accounts.  It 
teaches  economics  since  it  teaches  values  and  arts  of  expenditure.  Since 
those  who  are  doing  best  and  putting  forth  the  greatest  effort  have  the 
most  money,  thereby  affording  better  dress  and  more  privileges,  it  creates 
social  distinction  and  a  social  competition  which  is  legitimate  and  whole- 
some. No  girl  can  leave  the  institution  until  she  has  not  only  supported 
herself  but  has  a  bank  account  which  will  insure  her  a  good  "going-out  out- 
fit," and  since  fines  follow  misconduct,  conduct  really  determines  the  time, 
of  the  girl's  going  from  the  school.  It  has  taken  time  and  care  to  work  out 
to  a  serious  basis  this  system,  but  the  results  have  well  warranted  the  at- 
tempt. Well  executed,  this  system  must  be  a  success,  since  it  is  so  normal 
to  social  conditions. 

The  educational  department  lends  itself  almost  entirely  to  the  one 
purpose  of  the  institution,  training  for  home  life  and  citizenship. 

Every  effort  is  made  to  co-ordinate  the  schoolroom  with  every  other 
department.  Education  through  books  is  a  slow  process,  nor  have  most 
of  our  girls  a  basis  for  such.  Our  problem  is  to  in  the  shortest  given 
time  give  the  best  living  equipment,  right  values  of  life,  and  the  building 
out  of  those  social  points  of  contact  which  shall  make  it  possible  for  them 
to  take  their  proper  part  in  the  community.  It  must  be  an  e'ducation  through, 
sense  and  absorption  rather  than  through  books.  Hence  the  supreme  im- 
portance that  those  about  them,  the  house  mother,  the  teacher,  be  those 
who  through  years  of  experience,  study,  and  culture,  are  able  to  pass  on  to 
them.  Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  upon  the  officer,  her  cultural,  her 
educational,  her  human  values. 

10 


Up  to  the  present  time  we  have  had  no  central  school  building,  each 
cottage  having  had  its  own  teacher  and  its  own  schoolroom.  As  has  been 
mentioned  above,  the  last  legislature  has  granted  us  a  school  building. 
This  will  represent,  in  addition  to  the  academic,  departments  for  indus 
trial  training. 

The  girl  within  the  institution  represents  only  one  phase  of  our  at- 
tempt with  that  girl.  Equally  important,  and  second  to  it  only  as  the  in- 
stitution's training  makes  possible  the  other,  is  our  after-care  of  the  girl. 
Unless  too  far  removed  in  placing,  every  girl  going  from  the  institution 
goes  to  the  care  of  an  organized  force  for  parole  or  community  supervision. 
For  this  part  of  the  work  we  have  today  three  paid  helpers;  these  helpers 
giving  all  their  time  to  the  work.  Their  part  with  the  individual  girl  be- 
gins at  the  time  of  her  commitment  to  the  institution.  To  deal  with  under- 
standing, as  she  passes  from  the  institution's  care  to  their  supervision  in 
her  readjustment,  they  must  know  the  background  of  her  coming  to  the  in- 
stitution as  well  as  her  reaction  to  the  institution's  training.  If  paroled  to 
her  parental  home,  there  must  have  been  established  with  the  parents  a 
friendly  basis  which  will  make  acceptable  and  helpful,  because  acceptable, 
the  supervision  of  the  community  helper  whose  service  must  cross  even 
the  home  lines;  if  to  a  home  or  other  placing  of  the  state's  finding,  it 
must  be  of  assured  fitness  for  the  individual  girl,  that  assurance  made  pos- 
sible by  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  home  or  place.  Between  community 
worker  and  girl  under  her  care  must  be  established  and  maintained  that 
intimate  friendliness  which  leads  her  to  turn  to  this  friend  in  every  time 
of  need;  the  young  wife  in  her  first  attempt  to  adjustment  to  home-making; 
the  new  mother  when  baby's  teeth  come  hard  or  other  childish  ills  befall; 
the  girl  employee  when  misunderstandings  arise  with  the  employer;  the 
advice  in  the  buying  of  a  new  coat  or  hat;  the  next  turn  in  the  road,  what* 
ever  it  may  be,  of  experience  to  Be  shared.  How  varied  may  be  the  play 
of  these  human  experiences  and  resultant  human  needs,  our  tables  for  oc- 
cupation of  girls  under  our  care  in  the  community  may  suggest: 

Married 64  Power  machine  operator 1 

Working  in  factories 5  Car  cleaner  1 

Clerking  in  stores 4  Bakery 2 

Office  and  clerical  work 1  Attending  school 14 

Telegraph  operator 1  Escapes 1 

Government  position  1  Housework 66 

Millinery 2  Out  of  the  state 29 

Telephone  operators 2  In  own  homes 32 

Nurses 3 

Postoffice  clerk 1  230 

Again,  the  degree  to  which  our  girls  are  becoming  a  part  of  the  move- 
ment in  our  communities  may  be  gleaned  from  this  table. 

And  to  what  degree  is  our  work  proving  good?  All  success  is  rela- 
tive. But  would  you  count  a  mean  accomplishment  the  rehabilitation  of  a 
home  by  a  girl  of  fifteen;  the  carrying  back  into  many  a  home  the  family 
standards  and  domestic  values  learned  in  the  school?  Would  you  count 
futile  the  effort  that  is  turning  back  to  social  efficiency  that  which  seemed 

20 


social  by-product?  As  will  be  seen  by  this  same  occupational  table,  for 
many  of  our  girls  the  training  is  still  going  on  in  homes  other  than  their 
own;  others  are  in  their  parental  homes;  yet  many  others  have  married 
to  homes  of  their  own;  a  few  are  holding  responsible  positions.  There 
cannot  be  computed  the  human  effort  and  the  human  growth  this  table 
represents. 

No  girl  leaves  our  home  school  without  a  higher  ideal,  an  ideal  that 
in  the  inevitable,  natural  force  of  things  must  somewhere,  somehow,  some 
time,  find  expression.  A  denial  of  this  would  be  a  denial  of  the  eternal. 

Mr.  Vasaly:  This  splendid  paper  must  have  without  doubt  stimulated 
a  desire  to  ask  questions.  I  think  Mrs.  Morse  will  be  glad  to  answer  them. 

Charles  F.  Hall,  Judge  of  Probate,  Granite  Falls:  As  one  of  the  probate 
judges  of  the  state,  I  have  wondered  a  good  many  times  what  opportuni- 
ties our  training  schools  for  girls  and  boys  offer  these  poor,  unfortunate 
and  wayward  ones  that  come  before  us.  IMrs.  Morse's  excellent  paper  has, 
I  am  sure,  afforded  pleasure  to  all  who  have  heard  it.  I  am  pleased  to 
know  what  opportunities  are  'being  given  these  delinquent  girls  at  Sauk 
Center.  The  report  that  she  has  given  us  of  how  such  girls,  who  have  had 
no  home  training  and  no  opportunities  in  life,  have  been  brought  into  such 
careful  supervision  and  given  an  insight  into  the  methods  to  support  and 
co-operation  of  home  life  and  community  life,  fills  me  with  pleasure. 

Mr.  Hodson:  May  I  ask  Mrs.  Morse  how  many  of  the  committing 
judges  she  estimates  have  visited  her  school? 

Mrs.  Morse:  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  in  the  nearly  nine  years'  history 
of  our  institution  probably  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  of  our  judges  have 
visited  the  institution.  Two  or  three  have  been  there  repeatedly;  but  the 
numJber  is  very  small.  I  am  very  glad  Mr.  Hodson  has  emphasized  this  sub- 
ject by  asking  the  question,  because  it  seems  to  me  a  tragedy  for  any  judge 
to  send  a  child  to  an  institution  unless  he  has  assurance,  by  .personally 
knowing  that  institution,  that  it  is  the  right  place  for  the  child.  If  there 
is  any  way  in  which  the  counties  could  help  in  this  matter,  I  wish  they 
would. 

I  wish  that  I  might  at  this  time  voice  to  you,  as  a  body,  my  hope  that 
you  will  come  into  our  institution  and  know  us.  If  this  can  be  Better 
brought  about  by  my  formally  asking  you  to  come  together  there  for  a 
conference,  I  should  be  most  delighted  to  do  so.  It  would  give  me  the  great- 
est pleasure,  if  under  the  ruling"  of  this  hody  such  could  be  arranged,  if  you 
would  come  to  us  for  a  day  or  a  two  days'  conference  some  time. 

Mr.  Vasaly:  iMr.  Hodson's  question  and  Mrs.  Morse's  reply  brought  up 
a  very  pertinent  matter.  In  the  latest  report  of  the  Board  of  Control,  and  in 
its  previous  report  two  years  ago,  it  was  suggested  to  the  legislature  that 
a  law  be  passed  requiring  judges  within  the  first  six  months  of  their  term, 
or  within  two  years,  I  think  it  was,  to  visit  the  institutions  to  which  they 
commit;  that  was  with  reference  to  all  judges  who  commit  to  state  institu- 
tions, whether  it  be  the  prison,  the  reformatory,  the  school  at  Sauk  Center, 
or  any  other  institution;  and  that  their  expenses  be  paid,  dt  is  perhaps  un- 
fair to  expect  the  judiciary,  many  of  whom,  outside  of  the  larger  counties 
of  the  state,  are  among  the  poorest  paid  officials  we  have,  especially  the 

21 


probate  judges,  who  are  paid  more  now  than  they  have  been  but  not  so 
much  as  they  should  be,  should  make  these  visits  without  remuneration. 

We  made  an  investigation  as  to  how  many  judges  had  visited  the  state 
institutions,  and  it  was  a  lamentably  small  number,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  I  do 
not  say  that  in  any  way  as  a  criticism  of  the  judges,  although  I  do  believe 
that  it  should  be  a  part  of  the  judge's  duty  to  know  about  the  place  to  which 
he  sends  people.  Of  course  the  fact  that  the  judge  is  willing  to  commit  to 
the  institutions  without  that  knowledge  is  a  mark  of  great  confidence  in 
them,  but  how  much  better  it  would  be  if  he  personally  knew  something 
about  the  work  of  the  institution  by  having  been  on  the  ground  himself,  and 
thus  !become  an  interpreter  of  that  institution  to  his  people.  In  talking  with 
judges  about  it,  I  have  never  yet  found  one  that  disagreed  with  that  view, 
and  I  do  hope  they  will  feel  it  is  a  part  of  their  duty  to  visit  state  institu- 
tions when  they  can. 

The  delinquent  boy,  also,  is  a  good  deal  of  a  problem,  though  in  a  dif- 
ferent way  from  the  girl,  but  a  very  serious  one,  too,  and  the  state  is  try- 
ing through  various  agencies,  and  among  those  the  school  at  Red  Wing,  to- 
contribute  something  toward  the  solution  of  his  particular  problem,  which 
involves  many  angles  and  many  phases. 

We  have  the  superintendent  of  the  Red  Wing  school  with  us  today,  and 
I  am  very  glad  to  present  to  you  Mr.  Fulton,  who  is  making  a  strong,  earnest 
endeavor  toward  the  solution  of  the  problem. 


22 


THE  STATE  TRAINING  SCHOOL— RED  WING 

J.  T.  Fulton,  Superintendent. 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  should  like  to  emphasize  the 
point  made  'by  Mrs.  Morse  relative  to  juvenile  court  judges  visiting  the  in- 
stitution. I  understand  that  the  probate  judges  of  the  state  will  hold  their 
next  meeting  in  conjunction  with  the  State  Conference  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rection. This  meeting  will  be  held  at  Red  Wing  in  September.  We  are 
anticipating  a  large  attendance  of  judges,  as  well  as  social  workers,  from 
all  parts  of  the  state.  I  take  this  opportunity  of  assuring  you  a  cordial  wel- 
come to  our  city  and  to  the  institution. 

It  is  the  honor  of  the  Training  School  to  have  been  the  pioneer  institu- 
tion for  juveniles  of  this  state.  The  first  superintendent  was  appointed  in 
1867.  Possibly  the  unsettled  conditions  that  prevailed  at  the  close  of  the 
Civil  Wiar  forced  the  subject  of  delinquency  upon  the  attention  of  the  state. 
The  doors  of  the  institution  were  opened  in  January,  1868,  and  for  more 
than  fifty  years  this  institution  has  served  the  state  in  the  care  of  its  delin- 
quent boys. 

The  first  board  of  managers  was  appointed  in  1867  and  consisted  of 
Chief  Justice  S.  J.  R.  McMillan,  St.  Paul;  Dr.  J.  G.  Riheldaffer,  St.  Paul; 
Hon.  A.  T.  Hale,  Minneapolis;  and  Hon.  D.  W.  Ingersoll,  Minneapolis*. 
Among  the  well-known  Minnesotans  who  served  on  the  board  of  managers 
we  find  the  names  of  Hon.  C.  H.  Pettit,  Minneapolis;  Hon.  T.  B.  Walker, 
Minneapolis;  Hon.  F.  W.  Hoyt,  Red  Wing;  Hon.  E.  T.  Wilder,  Red  Wing; 
Hon.  R.  A.  Costello,  Duluth;  Hon.  W.  H.  Putnam,  Red  Wing;  Hon.  Jesse 
Mdlntire,  Red  Wing;  and  Hon.  N.  O.  Werner,  Minneapolis.  Later  the  school 
was  placed  under  the  State  Board  of  Control.  In  the  last  fifty-one  years 
there  have  been  five  superintendents :  J.  G.  Riheldaffer,  J.  W.  Brown,  F.  A. 
Whittier,  C.  O.  Merica,  and  J.  T.  Fulton. 

This  institution  has  had  the  usual  vicissitudes  common  to  a  school  of 
its  rank  and  kind.  At  various  times  it  has  been  somewhat  discredited,  but 
on  the  whole  it  has  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  public  and  has  been 
cordially  supported  by  the  public  sentiment  of  the  state. 

It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  speak  accurately  relative  to  results  obtained 
by  this  or  any  other  institution.  I  observed  that  the  seasoned  workers  who 
preceded  me  on  this  program  were  rather  modest  in  their  statements  re- 
lative to  their  work.  I  presume  that  a  more  ample  view  of  the  field,  a  more- 
adequate  knowledge  of  the  elements  affecting  the  institution,  a  more  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  the  great  variety  of  influences  touching  the  work, 
tends  to  temper  somewhat  the  certainty  of  one's  convictions.  It  is  an 
easier  matter  to  discredit  an  institution  than  to  place  firmly  in  the  public 
mind  a  true  and  just  estimate  of  its  worth.  But  few  mortals  have  that 
exquisite  mental  and  moral  balance  which  enables  them  to  place  a  true 
valuation  upon  the  work  of  an  institution.  We  are  prone  to  quickly  take 
up  the  attitude  of  the  partisan,  and  the  institution  so  unforunate  as  to 
become  the  subject  of  controversy  suffers  at  the  hands  and  tongues  of 
both  its  friends  and  those  who  are  not  its  friends.  Its  ardent  support- 

23 


ers  are  apt  to  be  led  into  an  exaggeration  of  statement  that  is  positively 
harmful,  which  those  who  support  the  other  side  of  the  controversy  are 
.eager  to  seize  upon  and  emphasize  the  unfavorable  features  of  an  in- 
stitution's activities.  As  a  result  of  these  immoderate  utterances,  the 
institution  is  presented  to  the  public  in  an  unfortunate  light.  Sane,  con- 
structive criticism  is  of  the  largest  possible  benefit,  but  the  constructive 
critics  are  usually  far  outnumbered  by  those  whose  peculiar  cast  of 
mind  permits  them  to  see  only  the  blemishes  in  the  work. 

The  training  school  began  its  career  in  a  set  of  buildings  on  St.  An- 
thony Avenue  in  St.  Paul,  under  the  name  of  the  State  Reform  School. 
The  name  was  later  changed  by  legislative  enactment  to  the  State  Train- 
ing School  for  Boys.  This  change  of  name  reflects  the  desire  to  remove 
such  stigma  as  might  attach  to  the  words  "Reform  School."  In  my  judg- 
ment it  would  be  desirable  to  name  the  institution  "The  State  School 
for  Boys."  The  institution  remained  in  St.  Paul  for  twenty-one  years, 
and  in  1889  it  was  relocated  on  a  beautiful  site  overlooking  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  two  miles  east  of  Red  Wing.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  state  boarding 
and  industrial  school  for  boys.  It  might  well  be  called  an  "opportunity 
school,"  as  it  is  our  earnest  desire  to  afford  an  opportunity  to  the  un- 
fortunate lads  whose  lives  have  been  hurt  by  a  lack  of  care  and  proper 
training.  Several  thousand  boys  have  passed  through  the  institution. 
By  far  the  greater  part  of  these  lads  have  been  so  benefited  by  their 
period  of  detention  that  they  have  succeeded  in  adjusting  themselves  in 
a  fairly  satisfactory  way  to  society.  Among  the  lads  who  have  left  the 
institution,  we  find,  of  course,  the  extremes  in  both  success  and  failure. 
A  few  have  developed  into  men  of  exceptional  ability  and  character. 

We  recently  learned  of  a  gentleman  who  is  a  banker  and  leading 
citizen — the  mayor  of  his  city — who  many  years  ago  was  one  of  the 
boys  at  Red  Wing.  Not  infrequently  a  man  drives  up  to  the  school,  in- 
troduces himself  and  family,  and  asks  to  visit  the  institution.  At  the 
right  moment  he  casually  remarks  that  he  spent  a  year  or  two  at  the 
school  ten  or  twenty  years  ago,  and  "just  wanted  to  see  the  place." 

So  there  is  also  found  a  list  of  utter  failures — boys  who  have  gone 
from  bad  to  worse — boys,  for  the  most  part,  born  under  the  handicap  of 
feeblemindedness,  moral  idiocy  or  disease.  A  clouded  mind,  a  defec- 
tive moral  equipment,  a  diseased  body,  are  a  poor  provision  with  which 
to  go  through  life.  Undoubtedly  a  large  part  of  delinquency  is  due 
to  unfortunate  home  conditions  and  to  physical  and  mental  defects.  It 
is  quite  a  futile  business  to  shout  a  warning  to  the  deaf;  it  is  quite  a 
futile  business  to  discuss  color  with  the  blind;  and  it  is  quite  a  futile 
business  to  offer  what  cannot  be  received  by  the  mental  and  moral  de- 
fective. 

Within  the  last  three  years  585  boys  have  been  examined  with  a 
view  to  ascertaining  their  mental  condition.  Dr.  Kuhlmann's  Revision 
of  the  Binet-Simon  Scale  for  measuring  intelligence  was  employed  in 
165  cases,  and  the  Stanford  1916  Revision  and  Extension  of  the  Binet 
Scale  was  employed  in  420  cases.  Our  examiner,  Miss  Marie  Burmeister, 
received  her  training  under  Dr.  Kuhlmann  and  at  the  University  of 
Minnesota.  She  is  now  in  government  service  at  Camp  Pike,  Arkansas. 
The  chronological  ages  of  these  585  boys  range  from  nine  to  twenty 

24 


years.       Their  mental  ages  range  from  six  years  ten  months  to  nineteen 
years  one  month.     In  general,  our  examiner  found: 

20  per  cent  of  the  boys  to  belong  to  the  average  normal  group 
20    per   cent    of    the    boys    to    belong    to    the    dull   normal    group 
30  per  cent  of  the  boys  to  belong  to  the  border-line  cases 
30  per  cent  of  the  boys  to  belong  to  the  feebleminded  group. 

If  this  work  is  dependable,  and  I  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  it 
is  not,  then  we  are  faced  with  the  problem  of  working  out  at  least  two 
distinct  systems  of  training — one  for  the  delinquents  who  are  of  normal 
intelligence  and  one  for  the  delinquent  lads  who  are  feebleminded.  An 
increased  number  of  examinations  may  change  these  percentages  some- 
what, yet  they  seem  to  be  in  general  agreement  with  the  results  obtained 
in  schools  dealing  with  boys  of  the  same  general  type.  Thus,  one  of 
our  difficulties  is  to  properly  understand  that  50  per  cent  of  our  popu- 
lation is  composed  of  subnormal  children;  to  adapt  training  in  schools 
and  shops  to  their  capacity;  to  have  teachers,  instructors  and  attendants 
realize,  and  to  act  intelligently  on  the  realization,  that  one-half  of  the 
lads  under  their  care  are  indeed  little  children,  even  though  they  have 
attained  the  chronological  age  of  sixteen  or  twenty  years.  The  lad  who 
is  blind,  or  armless,  or  with  a  warped  spine,  or  twisted  limbs,  instantly 
commands  our  sympathy  and  our  hands  instinctively  reach  out  to  his 
help;  but  the  boy  blind  in  moral  vision,  warped  and  perverted  in  intelli- 
gence, crippled  in  mind  is  a  hundredfold  more  to  be  pitied  than  the 
physical  wreck.  It  is  the  lot  of  these  unfortunate  children  to  be  mis- 
understood. Their  blundering,  irrational  (and  frequently  indecent)  ac- 
tion and  speech  are  not  regarded  as  the  symptoms  and  signs  of  their 
disordered  condition.  Their  anti-social  aberrations  in  speech  and  action 
are  regarded  as  the  expression  of  a  vicious  intelligence  and  a  bad  heart. 
So  these  children  are  apt  to  receive,  instead  of  a  sympathetic  understand- 
ing, abuse — both  verbal  and  physical.  In  my  estimate,  the  defective  de- 
linquent is  a  far  more  pathetic  figure  than  the  little  children  in  the 
crippled  children's  institution  at  Phalen  Park. 

However,  a  better  day  is  dawning;  the  entire  field  is  being  consid- 
ered; the  various  problems  are  being  attacked  from  every  angle,  and 
we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  great  state  of  'Minnesota 
will  eventually  solve  the  problem  that  feeblemindedness  and  the  ills  that 
follow  it  have  thrust  upon  the  state.  At  the  training  school  a  cottage 
has  been  authorized  wherein  the  lads  who  are  feebleminded  may  foe 
segregated  and  placed  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  house-fathers 
and  mothers  who  will  be  equipped  in  spirit  and  temperament,  as  we(ll 
as  experience,  to  deal  wisely  with  them. 

We  are  also  attempting,  by  applying  the  intelligence  tests,  to  as- 
certain the  aptitudes  of  the  lads  and  then  affording  them  opportunity 
to  enter  the  particular  employment  for  industrial  training  that  is  best 
fitted  to  their  capacity  and  liking. 

The  institution  consists  of  a  farm  of  470  acres  and  twelve  build- 
ings (four  of  which  are  cottages) ;  an  administration  building  which  con- 
tains quarters  for  two  families  of  boys,  offices,  storerooms,  library,  and 
apartments  of  assistant  superintendent.  There  is  an  industrial  build- 

25 


ing  which  houses  the  engine  room  and  the  various  shops.  The  school 
building  provides  for  an  organized  grade  school.  The  cottage  formerly 
occupied  by  the  girls  now  houses  the  smaller  boys,  and  one  wing  of  this 
building  has  been  remodeled  into  a  hospital.  The  use  of  the  guardhouse 
has  been  discontinued,  as  it  was  found  that  it  was  quite  unsuitable  to 
the  requirements  of  the  institution.  It  is  now  used  as  a  residence  for 
the  assistant  engineer.  There  is  also  a  recreation  building — erected  about 
seven  years  ago — in  which  there  is  an  auditorium,  Catholic  chapel,  gym- 
nasium, shower  and  swimming  pool  rooms.  The  farm  is  provided  with 
a  cottage  where  boys  who  are  engaged  in  the  farm  work  live. 

The  population  is  divided  into  two  parts — those  who  attend  school 
in  the  forenoon,  work  in  the  afternoon;  and  those  who  work  in  the  fore- 
noon, attend  school  in  the  afternoon.  Practically  all  work  of  the  insti- 
tution is  done  by  the  boys  under  the  supervision  of  competent  instructors. 
The  following  trades  are  taught:  Carpentry  and  cabinetmaking,  shoe- 
making,  laundering,  steamfitting,  blacksmithing,  tailoring,  painting  and 
decorating,  printing,  cooking  and  baking,  dairying,  gardening,  and  farm- 
ing. The  object  of  industrial  training  is  to  equip  boys  so  that  they  may 
be  able  to  make  an  honorable  living  when  they  leave  the  institution. 

The  school  of  letters  is  an  organized  grade  school  conducted  by  a 
principal  and  six  teachers.  All  the  teachers  are  women.  The  hours  of 
study  are  somewhat  longer  than  in  the  ordinary  public  school.  Quite 
a  number  of  boys  from  year  to  year  complete  the  eighth-grade  work. 
Some  instruction  is  also  given  in  shorthand  and  typewriting.  A  teacher 
is  engaged  for  instruction  in  vocal  music.  Boys  who  show  special  talent 
in  music  are  given  opportunity  to  join  the  band.  At  present  our  "first" 
band  consists  of  twenty-six  boys. 

Religious  services  are  held  every  Sunday.  The  priest  of  the  local 
church  has  charge  of  the  C'atholic  chapel,  while  one  of  the  Protestant 
ministers,  of  Red  Wing,  conducts  services  for  the  other  lads. 

In  addition  to  the  general  discipline  of  the  institution,  each  boy  is 
subjected  to  a  searching  physical  examination  at  the  time  of  entrance. 
The  medical  officer  makes  a  report  on  each  boy  examined.  The  boy  is 
also  examined  by  the  dentist,  and  later  he  is  examined  by  a  surgeon  who 
specializes  in  diseases  of  the  nose,  throat  and  chest.  If  a  boy  is  suf- 
fering from  diseased  tonsils,  or  adenoids,  these  are  removed  at  the  in- 
stitution hospital.  The  consent  of  the  parents  is  always  obtained  be- 
fore operations  are  performed,  unless  it  is  an  emergency  matter.  A 
trained  nurse  is  present  at  all  operations  and  remains  until  the  lads  are 
convalescent.  Several  hundred  operations  have  been  performed  within 
the  last  two  or  three  years,  and  no  unfortunate  results  have  followed. 
There  is  a  noticeable  improvement  in  the  general  health  of  the  school 
since  surgical  and  dental  work  have  been  undertaken.  Under  present 
arrangements,  a  mental  examiner  likewise  subjects  the  boy  to  exam- 
ination with  a  view  to  ascertain  his  mentality.  Boys  needing  glasses  are 
given  special  attention  by  a  competent  optometrist. 

The  age  of  commitment  is  eighteen  years  and  under.  Supervision 
is  retained  until  twenty-one.  Boys  admitted  to  the  institution  remain  for 
an  average  period  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  months.  This  period  is  neither 
so  long  nor  so  short  as  in  many  similar  institutions.  In  some  of  the 

26 


training  schools  the  time  is  considerably  longer — in  others  several 
months  shorter. 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  the  natural  place  for  the  development  of 
a  young  life  is  in  a  good  home,  it  has  been  the  policy  of  this  institution 
to  give  those  under  its  care  a  normal  home  life  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment,  and  we  are  convinced  that  the  results  justify  the  policy.  The 
school  day  begins  at  6:00  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  ends  at  8:00  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  Eleven  dormitories,  or  sleeping  rooms,  are  in  use,  and 
these  dormitories  are  supervised  by  four  men  at  night.  We  aim  to  have 
constant  supervision.  The  activities  on  the  playgrounds  are  supervised. 
The  supervision  of  the  lads  MUST  be  unremitting,  as  otherwise  un- 
fortunate conditions  invariably  develop. 

The  State  Board  of  Control  visits  the  institution  every  six  or  eight 
weeks  for  the  purpose  of  interviewing  the  lads  who  appear  to  be  ready 
for  parole.  The  school  is  operated  on  the  badge  or  merit  system.  A  boy 
obtains  one  badge  each  month  for  good  conduct,  and  if  his  conduct  is 
unsatisfactory,  a  certain  number  of  credits  is  deducted  so  that  his  per- 
iod of  detention  is  extended.  Twelve  badges  is  called  "honor,"  and  when 
a  boy  approaches  his  honor  he  is  brought  before  the  Board  of  Control  for 
examination.  His  history  is  presented  to  the  board  and,  after  talking 
with  the  lad  and  conferring  relative  to  his  case,  the  boy's  parole  Ts 
authorized. 

Three  parole  agents  are  in  the  employ  of  the  school.  When  a  boy  is 
first  received,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  possible,  an  agent  calls  upon  his 
people  and  obtains  as  accurate  a  history  of  the  lad  as  is  possible.  Then, 
before  he  is  sent  home,  another  visit  is  made  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
lad's  reception  at  home,  to  see  that  proper  employment  is  obtained  for  him, 
and  to  advise  the  parents  concerning  the  boy's  future.  In  many  instances 
it  is  necessary  to  find  another  home  for  the  lad,  as  his  own  does  not  pro- 
vide a  proper  environment. 

Before  leaving  the  institution  a  boy  is  examined  by  the  medical  officer, 
is  provided  with  a  suitable  outfit  of  clothing,  and  his  way  is  paid  to  his 
home  or  to  his  place  of  employment.  The  greater  part  of  the  boys  received 
have  very  little  difficulty  in  making  their  credits.  Occasionally,  however, 
a  lad  resents  discipline  and  resists  all  efforts  put  forth  for  his  help. 

During  the  last  two  years  there  has  been  a  noticeable  increase  in  the 
number  of  boys  committed  to  the  institution.  The  capacity  of  the  school 
is  300,  and  while  more  can  be  cared  for,  300  is  as  many  as  should  be  in  the 
institution  at  the  present  time.  In  the  year  extending  from  April,  1917, 
to  April,  1918,  297  boys  were  received;  and  in  the  year  extending  from 
April,  1918,  to  April,  1919,  355  boys  were  received.  Two  hundred  ninety 
boys  were  sent  out  in  the  year  extending  from  April,  19.17,  to  April,  1918; 
and  350  boys  were  sent  out  in  the  year  extending  from  April,  1918,  to 
April,  1919.  The  larger  number  sent  out  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Board 
of  Control  authorized  the  early  parole  of  boys  who  were  past  the  age  of 
sixteen  and  who  were  able  to  obtain  suitable  employment.  It  was  a 
war  measure.  The  demand  for  labor  was  very  great.  In  addition  to  this 
a  larger  number  of  boys  were  coming  into  the  institution  and  the  capacity 
of  the  school  would  otherwise  have  been  exceeded. 

27 


The  hours  of  work  and  school  are  from  7:30  in  the  morning  to  11:30; 
in  the  afternoon,  from  1:00  to  4:30.  'Saturday  afternoon  is  a  holiday,  and 
the  evenings  are  devoted  to  play — as  well  as  the  noon  hours.  Effort  is 
made  to  provide  suitable  recreation  for  the  boys,  and  an  ample  playground 
is  provided  for  each  family.  The  "gym"  is  in  constant  use  during  the 
winter  months.  The  playgrounds  and  river  afford  abundant  recreation  in 
the  summer. 

Within  the  last  four  years  about  1,000  boys  have  been  sent  out  of 
the  school.  To  be  exact — since  August  1,  1914 — a  period  of  between  four 
and  five  years — we  have  paroled  $75  boys.  Of  this  number  66  have  failed 
to  such  an  extent  that  they  were  committed  to  a  prison  or  reformatory, 
while  909  are  getting  along  in  varying  degrees  of  success;  thus  about  7 
per  cent  of  our  total  paroles  have  gone  to  prison  or  reformatory,  while  93 
per  cent  have  at  least  succeeded  in  remaining  in  free  contact  with  society. 
That  record  is  remarkable,  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  165  of  our  boys  on 
parole  were  in  the  army  or  navy  during  the  war;  but  the  unfortunate 
feature  of  such  a  report  is  that  as  the  years  pass,  these  figures  will  be 
greatly  modified.  We  shall  be  obliged  to  write  down  as  failures  some 
whose  names  now  appear  in  the  column  marked  "success,"  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  some  now  listed  as  failures  will  be  entitled  to  a  place  in  the 
column  marked  "success." 

At  the  present  time  there  are  2&0  boys  in  the  institution  and  there 
are  450  on  parole,  so  that  the  total  boys  under,  the  care  of  the  institution 
today  is  730.  The  per  capita  cost  for  the  last  two  years,  based  on  the 
total  number  of  boys  under  our  care,  was  $149.73.  The  per  capita  based 
on  the  daily  average  in  the  institution  was  $389.08,  while  the  per  capita 
based  on  the  total  attendance  is  $352.40.  The  training  school  is  a  desirable 
place  for  an  incorrigible  lad,  but  it  is  not  the  place  for  a  boy  who  can  be 
successfully  dealt  with  in  his  own  home  and  home  community. 

Mr.  Vasaly:  I  might  say  this  about  the  three  speakers  who  have  enter- 
tained and  edified  us.  They  are  modest.  They  neglected  to  speak  of  a 
part  of  their  work  which  I  think  ought  to  go  in  the  record,  and  that  is  that 
in  the  matter  of  war  activities  each  of  the  three  institutions  made  a  most 
remarkable  record. 

The  little  folks  at  Mr.  Merrill's  institution  entered  into  the  spirit  which 
reigned  throughout  the  country  most  heartily;  gladly  sacrificing,  never 
complaining.  They  were  glad  to  do  what  they  could  in  various  ways  toward 
the  great  achievement. 

Mrs.  Morse's  girls  could  not  go  into  the  army,  but  they  could  do  almost 
everything  else,  and  they  did.  They  helped  to  increase  the  production; 
they  did  their  share  wonderfully  and  well. 

Many  of  Mr.  Fulton's  boys  did  go  into  the  army  and  the  navy,  and  did 
very  well  there. 

Mr.  Hodson:  I  should  like  to  ask  Mr.  Fulton  what  the  age  limit  is 
for  commitment  to  his  institution,  and  from  what  courts  he  receives 
children. 

Mr.  Fulton:  The  age  limit  I  think  is  fixed  in  the  law  at  eighteen  years, 
and  there  is  no  minimum.  If  I  am  properly  informed,  any  boy  under  the 
age  of  eighteen  y^ars  can  be  committed  to  the  Red  Wing  institution. 

28       • 


However,  we  do  not  think  it  advisable  to  send  really  young  children 
to  the  Red  Wing  school.  We  have  a  small  boy  seven  years  old  who  was 
recently  sent  by  a  juvenile  court  judge.  The  lad  had  not  lost  his  baby 
speech.  It  is  an  unfortunate  thing  for  a  child  of  that  tender  age  to  be 
considered  incorrigible.  The  boy  was  in  the  habit  of  pilfering  from  the 
houses  of  the  neighborhood.  The  father  and  the  mother  were  working 
and  each  was  reluctant  to  give  up  his  work.  They  had  been  in  this  country 
but  a  short  time  and  were  eager  to  get  ahead. 

I  will  say  that  the  greater  part  of  our  population  comes  from  the  three 
most  populous  counties:  Ramsey,  Hennepin  and  St.  Louis.  Forty-six 
different  counties  contributed  to  our  population  last  year. 

Mr.  Vasaly:  I  want  to  bring  before  you  some  news  that  is  not  very 
pleasant.  Our  dear  friend,  Judge  Waite,  is  lying  in  a  hospital  in  Minne- 
apolis most  seriously  ill.  We  all  know  that  if  he  were  well  he  would  be 
here.  His  great  personality,  his  great  heart  and  mind  are  impressed  on 
the  children's  laws  of  Minnesota  and  will  be  his  monument.  I  am  sure 
that  to  send  him  an  expression  of  sympathy  from  this  gathering  would  be 
a  fine  thing. 

(Motion  to  have  the  chairman  send  such  expression  of  sympathy  was 
adopted.) 

Rev.  A.  J.  D.  Haupt,  director  of  Social  Service,  The  Church  Federation, 
St.  Paul:  It  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  the  delinquency  in  St.  Paul 
increased  from  1917  to  1918  76.7  per  cent.  The  increase  among  the  boys 
was  86  per  cent;  among  the  girls,  30.6  per  cent.  There  were  778  boys  and 
111  girls  before  the  court;  46  of  the  boys,  or  6  per  cent,  were  committed  to 
Red  Wing,  whilst  23  girls,  over  20  per  cent,  were  sent  to  Sauk  Center.  It 
is  a  rule  that  a  much  larger  percentage  of  girls  have  to  be  committed  to 
institutional  care. 

Dr.  Tate:  I  had  expected  to  add  a  few  words  to  what  Miss  Bengtson 
might  say  in  connection  with  the  commitment  of  pupils  to  the  School  for 
the  Deaf.  It  is  a  notable  fact,  as  most  of  you  have  learned,  that  in  the 
survey  of  the  5,000  children  of  Renville  county  made  by  Miss  Bengston, 
17  per  cent  of  them  were  defective  in  hearing.  Now,  making  all  due 
allowances  and  subtractions  from  the  850  which  this  report  presents  to  us 
as  being  defective  in  hearing,  or  deaf,  still  there  must  be  a  large  per  cent 
of  children  in  the  state  who  are  so  deaf  that  they  cannot  make  normal 
progress  in  the  public  schools.  It  is  a  notable  fact,  as  well,  that  when  one 
is  deaf,  in  most  cases  he  becomes  more  so  and  in  many  cases  he  becomes 
stone  deaf.  In  connection  with  this  it  is  also  a  fact  that  his  speech  becomes 
defective  and  that  his  education  must  eventually  necessarily  be  very 
defective,  because  he  cannot  communicate  with  people  by  hearing  what 
they  say. 

Now,  you  know  that  throughout  the  state  we  are  progressing  in  the 
natter  of  backward  classes.  The  reason  for  this  is  good;  that  is,  these 
classes,  in  other  words,  are  to  be  adapted  to  these  special  children,  but 
they  are  not  well  adapted  to  normal  children.  I  am  absolutely  sure  that  a 
great  many  of  these  children  who  are  assigned  to  these  special  classes 
are  so  assigned  not  because  they  are  mentally  defective  but  because  they 
lack  hearing  and  are  unable  to  communicate  with  their  teachers. 

29 


In  the  School  for  the  Deaf  at  Faribault  we  teach  speech  and  lip  reading 
to  over  75  Der  cent  of  the  pupils.  We  develop  the  child  in  a  normal  way 
in  every  respect,  both  intellectually  and  industrially.  My  belief  is  that  a 
large  number  of  the  children  in  this  state  deaf  enough  to  be  assigned  to 
special  classes  should  be  sent  to  the  School  for  the  Deaf  at  'Faribault.  I 
do  not  know  of  any  organized  body  of  people  who  reach  out  and  analyze 
•the  situation  more  completely  than  this  body  before  me,  most  of  whom  are 
interested  in  the  child  welfare  laws  of  the  state.  If  I  could  impress  upon 
you  the  necessity  for  selecting  from  those  special  schools  those  children 
who  are  there  because  they  are  deaf,  and  making  application  and  having 
them  sent  to  the  School  for  the  Deaf,  I  believe  I  should  have  contributed  a 
very  great  deal  to  the  life,  present  and  future,  of  a  large  class  of  persons 
in  this  state.  Don't  send  us  children  who  can  hear,  because  they  are  uni- 
formly defective  mentally;  but  send  us  children  who  because  they  are  deaf 
cannot  understand  what  their  teachers  say  to  them.  We  will  keep  up  what 
speech  they  have,  and  develop  their  speech,  and  their  ability  to  read  speech 
from  the  lips,  and  it  will  be  a  great  blessing  to  those  children. 

I  wish  I  could  impress  upon  every  one  the  fact  that  a  normal  deaf  child 
is  dumb  because  he  cannot  hear  his  own  voice.  'His  vocal  organs  are  per- 
fect, but  the  reason  he  cannot  speak  is  because  he  cannot  hear  his  own 
voice. 


SYMPOSIUM   ON    HEALTH,   LABOR  AND   EDUCATION— INFANT 

WELFARE   CLINICS. 
(AFTERNOON  'SESSION,  MAY  9TH— MR.  WHEELOCK  PRESIDING.) 

R.  W.  Wiheelock,  Member,  State  Board  of  Control:  I  apprehend  the 
Board  oi'  Control  has  already  extended  you,  through  its  chairman,  our  grati- 
fication over  this  splendid  representation  of  the  welfare  workers  of  the  state, 
and  all  that  I  can  do  is  to  add  a  second  to  that  expression  of  appreciation. 

The  more  we  get  into  this  new  field  of  welfare  work  which  the  legis- 
lature imposed  on  the  Board  two  years  ago,  the  more  we  become  convinced 
that  it  is  a  problem  of  the  whole  people,  not  simply  of  those  who  are  known 
as  welfare  workers.  Every  member  of  the  community  has  a  part  in  the 
responsibility  which  this  work  imposes.  You  as  members  of  these  county 
welfare  boards,  who  have  responded  so  splendidly  during  the  short  tim'e 
since  you  were  organized,  are  the  connecting  link,  the  sympathetic  nerve, 
so  to  speak,  between  the  central  organization  here  in  the  building  and  the 
entire  community  from  which  you  respectively  come.  The  Children's 
Bureau,  I  believe,  is  getting  right  down  to  the  basic  needs  of  the  com- 
munity in  the  matter  of — I  won't  call  it  reform — reconstruction,  remaking 
in  all  directions,  and  I  think  it  is  a  tribute  to  the  magnificent  spirit  of  the 
people  of  Minnesota,  which  the  Board  of  iControl  has  had  exemplified  so 
many  times,  to  see  such  an  assembly  here  today,  representative  from  any 
angle  at  which  you  might  apply  the  test. 

Dr.  E.  J.  Huenekens,  director  of  the  Bureau  of  Child  Conservation  of 
the  State  Board  of  Health,  will  be  the  first  speaker.  I  take  great  pleasure 
in  presenting  him,  although  he  is  a  gentleman  who  needs  no  introduction. 

E.  J.  Huenekens,  M.  D..  Director,  Bureau  of  Child  Conservation,  State  Board 

of  Health. 

I  am  not  going  to  take  very  much  of  your  time.  I  want  to  tell  you 
something  of  the  work  we  are  doing  and  ask  for  your  co-operation  in  its 
extension. 

The  Division  of  Child  Conservation  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  has 
been  in  existence  less  than  one  year  and,  I  might  say,  it  was  organized  al- 
most as  a  matter  of  accident.  I  was  called  to  the  town  of  Little  Falls, 
Minn.,  to  see  a  sick  baby,  and  there  happened  to  be  a  nurse  in  charge  of 
that  baby  who  had  been  doing  infant  welfare  work  in  Minneapolis.  Natu- 
rally she  had  been  taking  an  interest  in  other  babies  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  she  had  been  to  see  this  baby  and  that  baby  until  she  had  seven  or 
eight  babies  for  me  to  see  when  I  arrived.  The  condition  of  those  babies 
was  such  that  I  saw  there  was  a  big  opening  for  infant  welfare  clinics  in  the 
state. 

Through  the  co-operation  of  the  Civic  League  of  Little  Falls,  we  were 
able  to  make  a  beginning  along  these  lines.  I  went  back  later  and  con- 
ducted a  formal  infant  welfare  clinic,  and  for  a  year  kept  that  up  every 
two  months.  It  was  such  a  success  that  we  cast  about  for  means  of  mak- 
ing this  permanent  throughout  the  state. 

31 


I  had  great  difficulty  at  first  finding  some  means  of  getting  an  organ- 
ization to  take  care  of  this,  but  Dr.  Bracken,  secretary  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health,  who  has  been  very  much  interested  in  this  subject  for  a  number 
of  years,  finally  arranged  to  have  this  work  done  through  the  State  Board 
of  Health,  which  is  the  logical  body  to  take  care  of  it. 

The  division  was  started  last  July.  Four  or  five  clinics  were  given  in 
different  towns  from  that  time  until  October.  Then  the  influenza  appeared 
in  the  state  and  the  work  had  to  be  discontinued.  Since  that  time  thirty- 
five  communities  in  the  state  have  held  clinics,  which  have  been  such  a 
success  that  I  think  they  must  by  all  means  be  continued. 

You  perhaps  know  that  at  the  las!  session  of  the  legislature  no  money 
was  appropriated  for  this  work,  but  we  still  hope  the  work  can  be  con- 
tinued. I  am  quite  positive  we  shall  find  some  means  of  keeping  it  up,  for 
it  is  too  great  to  be  dropped. 

What  do  these  infant  welfare  clinic?  consist  of?  This  is  the  mechanism 
which  we  work: 

We  demand  that  the  local  community  make  the  first  request  for  a 
clinic.  We  have  to  have  some  people  in  the  town  who  are  interested  in 
this  work;  interested  enough  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  to  get 
the  babies  to  the  clinic  to  be  examined.  We  have  been  fortunate  enough 
in  that  respect  to  have  the  co-operation  of  the  'State  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs,  especially  Mrs.  J.  G.  'Swan,  who  is  the  chairman  of  the  Children's 
Year  'Committee.  She  has  written  to  all  her  county  chairmen,  and  the 
greater  number  of  the  requests  for  clinics  have  come  through  them. 

This  county  chairman,  or  somebody  in  the  town,  writes  in  for  a  clinic. 
We  send  a  nurse  to  that  town.  We  tell  them  how  to  advertise  the  clinic; 
what  they  have  to  do  in  way  of  preparation;  what  equipment  is  necessary 
— 'for  instance,  a  good  pair  of  scales,  a  good  meeting  place,  and  plenty  of 
helpers.  That  is  practically  all  that  is  necessary  for  them  to  do. 

Then,  on  the  day  appointed  for  the  clinic,  we  send  one  of  our  doctors — 
there  are  three  of  us  now  in  this  division — and  a  nurse  to  t-he  town,  and 
they  examine  every  baby  that  is  brought  there  up  to  the  age  Of  five  years. 
We  do  not  refuse  to  examine  any  child  over  that  age,  but  we  have  had  to 
set  an  age  limit  because  usually  there  are  too  many. 

We  emphasize  the  fact  that  we  do  not  want  just  the  sick  babies.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  these  clinics  are  primarily  prevention  clinics,  and  we  pre- 
fer the  healthy  babies.  We  tell  the  mothers  how  to  take  care  of  them 
to  prevent  diseases.  That  is  the  future  for  all  medicine. 

A  baby's  health  depends  primarily  on  proper  food.  We  tell  the  mother 
what  to  feed  her  baby.  The  most  important  message  that  we  have  to  bring 
is  to  encourage  all  mothers  to  nurse  their  babies,  and  we  show  them  how 
this  can  be  done.  I  might  say  here  that  in  the  past  the  medical  profes- 
sion itself  has  been  remiss  in  this,  that  they  have  encouraged  mothers  to 
wean  their  babies  when  it  was  entirely  unnecessary.  Now  we  have  to  re- 
educate the  mothers  to  know  that  it  is  never  necessary.  Even  the  re- 
peated excuse  that  the  mother  has  not  enough  milk  is  no  longer  valid.  We 
show  them  how  to  do  it  even  if  they  have  not  enough.  If  we  did  nothing 
else,  that  would  make  these  clinics  worth  while. 

32 


Where  the  babies  are  unfortunate  enough  to  have  been  weaned  before 
we  see  them,  we  tell  them  what  to  feed  in  the  way  of  artificial  food.  We 
have  learned  a  great  deal  about  the  feeding  of  infants  in  the  last  ten  or 
fifteen  years,  but  it  takes  a  long  time  to  get  that  through  to  the  mothers, 
and  even  to  the  doctors  who  do  not  pay  special  attention  to  that  branch  of 
medicine. 

For  instance,  just  as  an  example,  we  do  not  feed  little  babies,  after  they 
are  six  or  seven  months  old,  entirely  on  milk.  We  begin  to  give  them  solid 
food  very  early  and  to  cut  down  on  the  quantity  of  milk.  That  has  brought 
about  a  great  chance  in  infant  mortality,  especially  in  the  summer  months 
and  through  the  dreaded  second  summer;  all  through  proper  regulation  of 
food. 

We  can  detect  certain  pathological  conditions  and  diseases  long  before 
their  development  is  obvious  to  a  mother  or  untrained  person,  and  by  direct- 
ing the  proper  treatment  we  can  prevent  any  further  development  of  the 
disease.  The  one  I  have  especially  in  mind  is  the  disease  rickets,  a  very 
common  disease,  especially  in  its  milder  forms.  We  can  tell  whether  a 
baby  has  that  disease  months  before  it  is  obvious  to  an  untrained  person. 
By  directing  the  hygiene  and  feeding  of  the  child,  we  can  prevent  its  fur- 
ther development. 

When  it  comes  to  the  older  children,  between  two  and  five  years,  where 
the  feeding  is  not  of  such  prime  importance  any  more,  the  principal  thing 
we  do  is  to  find  any  beginning  conditions  that  require  interference.  The 
most  obvious  ones  are  beginning  adenoids  and  diseased  tonsils.  Where  the 
removal  of  adenoids  and  tonsils  is  necessary,  and  if  this  be  well  performed, 
there  is  no  operation  which  produces  more  gratifying  results.  What  we 
expect  to  do  in  these  clinics  is  to  tell  these  mothers  whether  or  not  that  is 
necessary.  If  the  parents  wait  until  the  condition  is  obvious  to  themselves, 
if  they  wait  until  the  child  is  partially  deaf  and  backward  in  school  be- 
fore they  consider  it,  then  often  much  harm  is  done.  That  condition,  like 
many  others,  must  be  taken  early  in  order  to  get  the  desired  results. 

There  are  many  other  conditions  that  we  find  at  these  clinics,  different 
deformities,  and  we  advise  what  should  be  done.  We  do  not  attempt  any- 
thing in  the  way  of  medical  or  surgical  treatment.  Our  method  is  to  advise. 
We  tell  them  how  it  can  be  taken  care  of,  and  it  is  referred  to  their  phy- 
sician. Our  prime  purpose  is  to  prevent  troubles,  and  if  we  find  troubles, 
we  tell  the  mothers  how  they  can  be  corrected. 

We  have  had  recently  ten  days  up  on  the  iron  range  in  St.  Louis  county, 
and  the  conditions  that  we  found  there  have  been  worse,  probably,  than 
those  in  any  other  place  in  this  state.  We  found  a  large  foreign  element 
there  and  three-quarters  of  the  mothers  who  came  for  information  had  to 
receive  their  instruction  through  an  interpreter.  There  were  mothers  who 
had  been  feeding  children  two  years  ol  age  nothing  but  condensed  milk  and 
crackers,  and  sometimes  they  gave  the  babies  salt  pork,  with  nothing  else 
in  the  diet.  I  think  the  work  we  did  in  those  ten  days  in  St.  Louis  county 
more  than  justified  the  existence  of  our  division.  We  expect  to  go  back 
there  again,  because  I  think  our  work  is  needed  there  more  than  in  any 
other  part  of  the  state. 

33 


It  is  surprising  how  many  mothers  there  are  who  are  not  in  the  habit  of 
going  to  the  doctor  until  the  babies  are  actually  sick  in  bed.  What  we 
are  trying  to  do  is  to  train  the  mothers  of  our  state  that  the  children  should 
be  looked  after  before  they  are  sick,  in  the  very  earliest  stages  of  sick- 
ness, and  not  wait  until  they  are  seriously  ill. 

I  told  you  before  that  the  last  legislature  made  no  appropriation  for 
this  work,  but  we  expect  to  continue  it  through  private  subscription.  We 
have  not  our  plans  made  as  yet,  but  we  expect  to  carry  them  out.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  this  work  is  not  now  being  continued  on  state  funds.  Dr. 
Boeckmann,  president  of  the  State  Board  of  Health,  has  given  us  a  pre- 
liminary check  for  one  thousand  dollars  to  go  on  with  this  work  until  we 
can  make  more  permanent  plans  for  financing  it. 

There  is  danger,  in  public  health  work,  of  there  being  too  many  dif- 
ferent bodies,  all  striving  for  the  same  end  but  not  co-operating.  There  is 
danger  now  of  the  child  welfare  boards,  the  public  health  associations,  the 
State  Agricultural  School,  the  State  Board  of  Health,  all  these  different 
bodies,  working  for  laudable  purposes  but  overlapping  each  other,  trying  to 
do  the  same  work  and  then  leaving  other  fields  entirely  unworked.  I  think 
it  important  that  all  the  workers  of  this  field  should  get  together  and  at 
least  know  what  the  others  are  doing  along  the  same  line.  Former  Presi- 
dent Vincent,  in  an  address  before  the  American  Public  Health  Association, 
emphasized  the  point  that  for  all  public  health  work  there  is  not  enough 
co-operation;  and  I  think  that  a  body  of  this  kind  could,  perhaps,  be  the 
starting  point  for  making  for  more  co-operation.  All  of  your  county  wel- 
fare associations  and  all  the  others  ought  to  get  together  somehow  to  see 
that  this  work  is  carried  on  and  the  public  health  work  carried  on  without 
any  overlapping. 

Mrs.  Johnson:  May  I  ask  if  it  is  wise  to  repeat  the  clinics  in  the  same 
place? 

DP.  Huenekens:     That  is  something  I  forgot  to  speak  about. 

Yes;  it  is  not  only  wise  to  repeat  the  clinics,  but  I  do  not  think  they 
are  of  very  great  value  unless  they  are  repeated.  They  should  be  a  long, 
continued  pull;  not  spasmodic  efforts.  We  strive  to  induce  the  communi- 
ties to  employ  a  public  health  nurse  to  do  the  follow-up  work.  We  have 
these  clinics  and  give  good  advice,  but  if  there  is  no  one  to  do  the  follow- 
up  work,  to  go  into  the  home  to  see  that  our  directions  are  actually  car- 
ried out,  our  efforts  will  be  largely  wasted.  We  depend  upon  the  follow- 
up  work  of  the  nurse;  to  really  go  into  the  home  and  see  that  these  things 
are  carried  out,  and  make  further  explanations  to  the  mother.  After  we 
get  a  sufficient  number  of  public  health  nurses,  we  shall  insist  upon  it  that, 
as  a  condition  for  returning  for  future  clinics,  the  local  community  employ 
a  public  health  nurse.  If  such  a  community  has  not  enough  spirit  to  em- 
ploy a  nurse,  we  consider  them  too  backward  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  such 
a  clinic.  That  is  the  only  expense,  so  far,  a  community  is  put  to,  and  if  it 
does  not  appreciate  it  sufficiently  to  go  to  that  expense,  they  are  not  ripe 
for  these  clinics;  they  require  further  education  along  social  and  health 
lines. 

Mrs.  W.  H.  Mahaffie,  Morris:  In  securing  the  co-operation  of  the  par- 
ents at  the  time  the  babies  were  brought  to  be  weighed  and  measured  in 
our  district,  we  had  very  good  success.  In  what  way  can  we  place  the  mat- 
ter before  those  same  women  to  make  them  willing  to  bring  their  babies 

34 


• 

to  the  clinic?  The  measuring  and  weighing  was  considered  obligatory  as  a 
war  measure,  but  could  the  clinic  be  so  considered  or.  put  in  a  similar 
light? 

Dr.  Huenekens:  Probably  many  of  you  have  been  doing  this  work  of 
weighing  and  measuring.  That  is  a  great  thing  in  awakening  the  enthusi- 
asm of  the  mothers,  and  it  has  been  of  great  benefit  to  us  as  a  preliminary 
work,  but  as  an  end  in  itself  it  is  not  sufficient.  Of  what  value  is  it  to 
weigh  and  measure  the  babies  if  you  are  not  going  to  do  anything  more 
with  them,  unless  follow-up  work  is  done?  That  is  the  work  that  we  pro- 
pose to  do. 

The  thing  to  tell  those  mothers  is  that  not  only  are  the  babies  going 
to  be  weighed,  but  we  are  going  to  give  the  mothers  some  advice  as  to 
how  to  take  care  of  their  babies  and  to  point  out  any  defects  we  may  find. 
This  is  a  logical  step  forward  beyond  weighing  and  measuring.  It  is  this 
preliminary  weighing  and  measuring  which  is  making  our  work  easier. 
We  have  the  very  heartiest  co-operation  of  Mrs.  Winter  and  Mrs.  Swan  in 
this  work.  They  have  been  convinced  that  some  such  follow-up  work  must 
be  done. 

I  may  say  here  that  these  infant  welfare  clinics  that  we  are  giving  in 
these  smaller  towns  are  the  first  in  the  United  States  to  be  given  in  this 
way,  and  many  other  states  are  becoming  interested  in  it.  In  the  past  these 
infant  welfare  clinics  have  been  placed  in  all  the  large  cities  of  the  country, 
it  is  a  coming  thing,  but  only  in  the  larger  cities.  It  was  thought  that  they 
could  not  be  brought  to  the  smaller  cities.  It  would  be  a  crime  if  we  had  to 
stop  this  work  now.  I  feel  that  it  is  doing  a  great  deal  of  good.  That  is 
not  only  my  personal  opinion  but  the  opinion  of  many  others. 

Mr.  Hodson:  How  is  it  possible  for  the  various  communities  in  the 
state  to  get  these  clinics?  What  are  the  preliminary  siteps? 

Dr*.  Huenekens:  The  first  thing  they  have  to  do  is  to  write  in  to  the 
State  Board  of  Health  and  ask  for  a  clinic. 

The  second  thing  is  that  they  need  some  kind  of  an  organization  to 
take  care  of  the  local  end  of  it,  a  woman's  club,  literary  club,  or  just  a  con- 
gregation of  the  women  of  the  town  who  are  accustomed  to  doing  most  of 
the  work. 

Then  it  is  necessary  to  find  a  place  in  which  to  give  the  clinics,  to  get 
a  good  pair  of  scales,  and  then  to  advertise  the  clinics  in  the  newspapers 
and  through  the  schools. 

In  some  of  the  more  progressive  places  they  have  visited  every  house 
in  the  township,  to  let  the  people  know  that  there  are  such  clinics. 

That  is  all  we  demand  of  the  local  people.  If  you  have  only  two  or 
three  women  in  town  personally  interested  in  it,  they  can  put  across  a  good 
clinic.  The  best  clinics  that  we  have  had  have  depended  altogether  on  the 
efforts  of  the  local  people.  How  successful  this  work  is  depends  on  who 
is  in  charge,  who  is  directing  this  work.  It  does  not  depend  on  the  com- 
munity, but  on  who  is  running  it. 

Mrs.  Johnson:  We  attempted  to  put  on  a  clinic  without  outside  help,  the 
doctors  in  town  giving  'their  services,  and  406  children  were  brought  in. 

35 


Then  the  county  welfare  board  took  the  list  of  defective  children  and  tried 
to  follow  it  up. 

What  can  we  do  when  we  find  defective  children  and  the  parents  do 
not  believe  in  doing  anything? 

Dp.  Huenekens:  There  is  no  way  of  forcing  them  that  I  know  of  unless 
it  is  a  very  obvious  case. 

The  most  we  have  to  do  is  to  educate  them  to  prevent  disease. 

Mrs.  Johnson:  We  had  a  family  where  one  of  the  children  already  had 
tuberculosis  of  the  spine  and  the  three  younger  ones  were  already  affected. 

Dr.  Huenekens:  I  do  not  know  of  any  means  whereby  you  can  force 
them  if  they  absolutely  refuse  to  do  it. 

Mr.  Wheelock:  Mrs.  Margaret  B.  Lettice,  director  of  the  Baby  Welfare 
Association,  will  follow  up  this  subject  that  the  doctor  has  so  ably  opened, 
along  the  line  of  infant  welfare  clinics  in  the  city. 


36 


INFANT  WELFARE  CLINICS  IN  THE  CITY 
OF  ST.  PAUL 

Mrs.  Margaret  B.  Lettice,  Director,  Baby  Welfare  Association. 

As  you  probably  know,  the  movement  for  saving  the  lives  of  the  babies 
through  the  education  of  the  mothers  is  of  comparatively  recent  origin.  In 
the  twenty-seven  years  since  this  movement  was  first  organized  in  Paris  by 
Dr.  Budin,  a  great  many  communities  have  taken  up  the  work.  St.  Paul  was 
one  of  the  first  cities  in  the  middle  west— ^Minneapolis,  also,  was  one  of  the 
first — to  start  this  work. 

In  July,  1910,  a  group  of  interested  St.  Paul  people  formed  a  baby  wel- 
fare organization.  Three  of  the  charter  members  of  the  board  were  physi- 
cians, and  they  remain  on  the  board  at  this  time.  The  movement  when  or- 
ganized was  supported  entirely  by  voluntary  contributions,  and  it  is  sup- 
ported entirely  in  that  manner  today.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  very  few  of  our 
cities  of  the  second  class  have  realized  that  it  was  part  of  the  duty  of  the 
community  to  support  this  movement  by  taxation,  so  it  is  being  supported 
by  voluntary  contributions  in  nearly  all  the  cities  in  the  United  States. 

The  object  is  the  saving  of  the  lives  of  babies  through  the  education  of 
the  mothers.  Originally  this  was  done  largely  by  conducting  milk  stations 
and  distributing  milk,  at  the  same  time  holding  clinics  in  these  stations. 
We  had  that  method  in  St.  Paul  at  the  beginning,  though  only  for  a  very 
short  time,  as  it  was  very  soon  seen  that  the  distribution  of  milk  was  not 
an  essential  thing;  that  the  object  of  the  organization  should  be  to  secure 
good  milk  for  the  entire  community,  not  only  for  the  infants.  And  the  ef- 
forts of  the  organization  have  been  directed  toward  securing  good  milk,  con- 
ducting clinics,  and  home  visiting,  not  sending  out  any  ready  prepared 
formulas,  as  was  the  first  idea  in  these  milk  stations. 

It  was  very  soon  seen  that  a  nurse  going  into  the  home  and  teaching 
the  mother  how  to  prepare  the  food  could  do  a  great  deal  more  than  could 
possibly  be  accomplished  by  passing  out  these  ready  prepared  formulas. 
The  mother  could  be  educated  along  other  lines,  as  caring  for  her  home, 
proper  ventilation,  even  the  keeping  of  the  home  clean  and  caring  for  the 
other  members  of  the  family.  All  these  things  are  important  factors  in  the 
health  of  the  children. 

Breast  feeding,  as  Dr.  Huenekens  has  said,  is  one  of  the  most  important 
things  these  clinics  have  been  able  to  teach  mothers.  That  was  recognized 
in  the  beginning.  At  the  first  milk  station  in  Paris  in  1892,  where  they  dis- 
tributed the  day's  supply  of  milk  in  baskets,  the  baskets  were  always  lab- 
eled "For  want  of  something  better,"  thus  keeping  in  the  minds  of  the 
mothers  that  the  important  thing  was  to  secure  breast  feeding  for  their 
children. 

From  the  beginning  we  have  held  clinics  two  or  three  times  each  week 
in  the  central  station,  the  nurses  following  the  cases  into  the  homes,  teach- 
ing the  mothers  to  carry  out  the  physicians'  orders. 

The  results  accomplished  depend  upon  several  things.  They  depend 
upon  the  interest  of  the  doctor.  That  is  one  of  the  very  important  things. 


They  depend  also  upon  the  follow-up  work  and  the  number  of  nurses  em- 
ployed. 

We  always  hope  for  more  nurses  so  that  our  work  can  be  done  in  a 
thorough  and  painstaking  way.  One  nurse  cannot  successfully  take  care 
of  more  than  one  hundred  babies  and  keep  them  well,  although  they  have 
often  taken  care  of  a  larger  number,  but  I  believe  that  should  be  the  num- 
ber of  children  one  nurse  is  held  responsible  for. 

The  largest  part  of  this  work — the  postnatal  clinics — is  held  daily  with 
baby  specialists  in  attendance.  Babies  are  here  given  a  careful  examina- 
tion and  the  mothers  interested  in  their  care  and  treatment. 

In  the  city  of  St.  Paul,  as  you  probably  know,  there  were  a  large  num- 
ber of  baby  farms  in  1910,  when  this  work  was  organized.  It  was  the  con- 
dition that  existed  in  these  baby  farms  that  influenced  the  people  who  or- 
ganized this  work  to  some  extent  to  organize  it. 

The  next  year  a  city  ordinance  was  passed  making  it  a  misdemeanor  to 
conduct  these  farms  without  a  license.  It  was  difficult  to  find  the  women 
who  took  these  children,  so  that  prior  to  the  winter  of  1912  and  the  year  of 
1913  very  little  was  done,  and  no  effort  was  made  to  have  any  of  these 
women  arrested  for  violation  of  this  law,  some  of  the  people  in  the  health 
department  believing  that — as  it  was  explained  to  me — it  would  not  do  any 
good  to  arrest  these  women,  as  that  would  necessitate  putting  the  babies 
in  another  home  about  which  we  knew  nothing;  chasing  the  babies  from 
one  bad  place  to  a  place  we  did  not  know  anything  about.  But  I  believed 
we  could  make  some  plans  whereby  these  baby  farms  could  be  controlled, 
even  though  we  had  nothing  more  far  reaching  than  a  city  ordinance. 

At  that  time  I  asked  to  be  appointed  a  special  inspector  of  the  Board 
of  Health  of  the  city  of  St.  Paul,  and  asked  to  be  allowed  to  run  these  baby 
/farms  as  I  saw  fit,  and  to  have  the  women  who  ran  them  arrested  if  I 
wanted  to.  I  secured  the  appointment  and  such  permission  from  the  Board 
of  Health. 

From  that  time  on,  if  a  child  was  taken  into  any  of  these  baby  farms 
without  first  coming  to  our  organization,  we  did  not  hesitate,  if  the  woman 
refused  to  do  as  she  was  told,  to  have  an  arrest  made.  Hn  every  instance 
we  were  successful  in  getting  a  suspended  sentence  for  the  woman,  and 
that  discouraged  the  baby-farm  business  to  such  an  extent  that  they  are 
hardly  known  now.  They  were  almost  unknown  even  before  the  new  laws 
went  into  effect. 

We  had  to  provide  some  place  for  these  babies.  The  nursing  staff  of 
our  organization,  in  going  out  through  their  districts — each  nurse  is  respon- 
sible for  a  particular  district — would  come  in  contact  with  some  good  woman 
who  perhaps  would  take  one  child  in  addition  to  her  own  children.  It  meant 
a  little  source  of  income  for  her.  She  knew  that  if  she  took  the  child  under 
the  supervision  of  our  organization,  she  would  secure  her  pay.  'She  knew 
that  if  the  child  were  ill,  she  could  have  medical  attention  free  of  charge 
for  it  and  that  hospital  care  would  be  arranged  for  if  necessary.  That  gave 
the  woman  a  certain  protection.  So  a  great  many  of  these  women  were 
very  willing  to  take  these  children  into  their  homes.  In  that  way  we  ar- 
ranged for  the  babies  that  had  to  be  boarded.  No  baby  went  into  an  ap- 
proved home  without  first  coming  through  our  organization  and  a  thorough 

38 


investigation's  being  made  of  it  to  see  if  it  were  a  baby  that  should  be 
boarded.  We  made  a  rule  that  no  baby  under  three  months  of  age  should 
be  boarded.  We  were  able  to  get  the  mothers  to  nurse  the  babies  for  three 
months  even  though  it  was  harder  than  it  is  at  this  time,  with  the  state 
back  of  us,  but  we  could  do  it  in  a  large  majority  of  cases,  and  we  could 
prevent  babies  being  boarded  if  they  were  under  three  months  of  age.  We 
took  the  attitude  that  if  a  woman  took  a  child  to  board  without  first  hav- 
ing the  case  investigated,  she  was  doing  just  as  much  harm  as  though  she 
were  not  giving  it  proper  care  because  she  was  not  sure  the  child  ought  to 
be  boarded. 

We  did  not  encourage  non-residents'  coming  here  and  leaving  their 
babies  to  be  boarded  in  St.  Paul.  It  was  very  much  more  difficult  to'  en- 
force these  rules  than  it  is  at  the  present  time.  We  did  succeed  in  driving 
a  great  many  girls  out  of  the  city,  which  was  unfortunate,  but  if  they  would 
not  obey  our  rules  they  simply  went  out  of  the  city.  Now,  of  course,  we 
have  the  advantage  of  not  having  them  get  away  from  us  the  way  they  did 
at  that  time. 

This  method  of  boarding  children  was  so  successful  that  in  1916  there 
was  only  one  death  among  the  boarded  babies  in  St.  Paul,  the  babies  being 
boarded  in  private  families,  and  that  was  a  case  of  congenital  syphillis. 

Of  course  all  infant  welfare  organizations  are  emphasizing  at  this  time 
the  value  of  prenatal  clinics  and  the  prenatal  work.  In  1916  we  organized  in 
this  city,  in  connection  with  the  Baby  Welfare  Association,  the  prenatal 
clinics,  and  these  clinics  are  conducted  now.  The  expectant  mother  is 
urged  to  come  as  early  as  possible  in  pregnancy  for  observation  and  care, 
because  we  feel  that  only  by  supervising  the  prenatal  cases  shall  we  be  able 
to  cut  down  the  number  of  deaths  during  the  first  month  of  life,  or  the  ac- 
cident of  stillbirth,  the  number  of  stillbirths. 

We  have  been  successful  in  combating  the  midwife  nuisance  by  these 
prenatal  clinics  by  securing  medical  attendance  free  of  charge  and  by  giv- 
ing nursing  care  in  the  homes.  We  have  been  able  to  get  a  great  many  of 
our  people  to  come  into  our  prenatal  clinics  and  have  a  physician  rather 
than  a  midwife. 

I  wish  to  give  you  just  a  few  of  the  statistics  for  the  city  for  the  last 
year. 

For  our  postnatal  clinics  we  had  last  year  1,739  babies  under  our  car». 
Among  this  number  there  were  only  50  deaths,  making  the  infantile  death 
rate  only  28  per  1,000.  In  the  entire  city  of  St.  Paul  for  the  same  year  there 
were  5,162  births  and  446  deaths;  a  death  rate  of  84.3  per  1,000,  as  against 
28  per  1,000  among  children  that  we  were  supervising. 

I  was  asked  to  say  something  about  our  work  in  relation  to  the  unmar« 
ried  mother.  I  have  already  told  you  what  we  did,  before  these  laws  went 
into  effect,  for  the  unmarried  mother  in  placing  her  child  in  a  safe  place, 
At  this  time  OUT  work  with  the  unmarried  mother  is  very  much  the  same. 
Before  the  laws  went  into  effect  we  had  a  very  pleasant  co-operation  with 
the  Salvation  Army  Rescue  Home,  the  City  Hospital,  the  Woman's  Chris, 
tian  Home.  We  had  been  able  to  get  them  for  some  time  to  report  all  casei 
.of  unmarried  mothers'  leaving  those  institutions  with  their  babies,  if  the? 
were  going  to  remain  in  St.  Paul,  so  that  they  could  be  supervised  by  th| 

39 


nurse.  The  nurse  was  responsible  for  the  illegitimate  child  in  her  district 
just  the  same  as  for  the  other  children. 

When  those  girls  came  into  our  clinics  they  were  never  allowed  to  feel 
that  there  was  any  difference  in  their  cases.  The  doctors  did  not  know  that 
ithey  were  unmarried  mothers.  We  felt  that  only  in  that  way  would  they 
come  to  us.  They  were  in  a  way  protected  there.  We  are  continuing  the 
same  arrangement. 

Placement  of  the  children:  That  is  done  now  through  the  co-operation 
of  the  state  board  and  the  county  board  with  our  organization.  We  are  very, 
Jvery  thankful  for  the  help  of  the  State  Board  of  Control  and  the  County 
JChjild  Welfare  Board  in  our  work,  and  feel  that  it  is  of  great  value  to  us 
in  securing  settlements  for  these  children  and  providing  for  them  in  a  finan- 
cial way.  We  are  hoping  that  we  are  not  entirely  useless  to  the  Board,  be- 
^lause  we  are  always  glad  to  offer  our  services  in  any  of  these  cases,  and 
we  are  very  glad  indeed  to  have  the  nurses  supervise  all  these  cases.  Of 
course  they  can  be  supervised  after  these  mothers  go  home  with  their  chil- 
dren. If  they  are  working  in  private  families  with  their  children,  they  can 
be  better  supervised  by  a  nurse  than  by  anyone  else.  The  supervision  that 
we  have  of  these  babies  is  certainly  'a  great  factor  in  lowering  the  infantile 
mortality  of  the  city  and  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Wheelock:  Those  of  you  who  were  at  the  State  Conference  of 
'Charities  and  Correction  two  or  three  years  ago  will  recall  with  a  great  deal 
of  pleasure  the  splendid  address  made  by  Miss  Bengtson,  who  at  that  time 
jwas  devoting  a  large  part  of  her  time  to  child  welfare  work.  Since  then 
she  has  been  further  honored  by  re-election  to  the  office  of  superintendent 
of  schools  in  that  county  after  a  rather  spirited  contest,  but  she  is  still  de- 
voted to  this  line  of  work,  and  we  are  going  to  have  a  further  dissertation 
on  her  research  work  and  her  conclusions  along  this  line. 


40 


THE  WORK  OF  A  COUNTY  HEALTH  NURSE 

Miss  Amalia  Bengtson,  County  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Renville  County. 

(When  I  first  became  superintendent  of  the  county  schools  of  Renville 
county,  I  planned  to  do  all  in  my  power,  with  the  money  allowed  me,  for 
the  betterment  of  those  schools.  I  aimed  to  persuade  the  people  of  the 
icounty  that  nothing  but  the  best  in  the  line  of  school  houses,  school  equip- 
ment, and  teaching  force,  should  be  thought  of  for  the  rural  school  children. 
With  this  in  mind,  I  began  visiting  schools. 

I  made  only  a  few  visits,  however,  when  one  day  I  said  to  myself,  "What 
is  the  use?  What  is  the  use  of  asking  the  people  of  Renville  county  to  spend 
money  in  bettering  school  conditions  for  children  who  are  physically  unfit 
to  get  the  full  benefit  of  what  is  given  them,  or  are  too  sick  to  be  in  school 
at  all?  Are  we  not  attacking  our  school  problem  from  the  wrong  standpoint, 
hitching  the  cart  before  the  horse,  as  it  were?  Hadn't  we  better  begin  right 
now  to  make  the  child  fit  for  the  school,  as  well  as  trying  to  make  the  school 
fit  for  the  child?"  The  more  visits  I  made  the  more  convinced  I  became 
that  it  was  my  duty  to  have  something  definitely  done  for  the  health  of  the 
school  children  under  my  supervision. 

1  I  knew  the  public  nurses  had  done  much  for  the  children  of  the  city 
schools,  and  I  reasoned  that  what  was  good  for  the  cities  ought  to  be  good 
for  the  country,  if  the  work  were  suited  to  country  conditions.  I  realized 
that  a  county  doctor  would  be  fine,  but  I  also  realized  that  the  cost  of  his 
services  would  be  prohibitive,  so  I  planned  for  a  county  nurse,  and,  with  her 
help,  a  campaign  for  better  health  for  the  children  of  this  county. 

To  get  a  nurse  would  take  money,  and  as  I  planned  to  have  the  health 
work  paid  for  by  county  money  appropriated  by  the  county  board  of  com- 
missioners, I  knew  that  I  must  work  up  some  sentiment  for  our  proposed 
health  work  among  the  taxpayers,  before  the  commissioners  would  feel  jus- 
tified in  giving  me  an  appropriation.  My  first  move,  therefore,  was  a  cam- 
paign for  public  sentiment. 

At  every  meeting  where  I  had  an  opportunity  to  speak,  I  took  occasion 
to  tell  of  health  conditions  among  the  school  children  as  I  had  observed 
them.  I  pointed  out  what  cities  had  done  for  their  school  children  for  some 
years  past  and  how  conditions  had  been  bettered.  I  argued  that  the  people 
of  prosperous  Renville  county  ought  to  give  this  health  question  some  con- 
sideration. Some  one  or  two  in  every  gathering  would  come  to  me  at  the 
close  of  such  a  meeting,  say  they  were  interested,  and  ask  what  I  proposed 
to  do.  To  these  I  explained  my  plan  for  a  county  nurse,  and  asked  that 
those  interested  would  take  occasion  to  speak  with  their  county  commis- 
sioner, asking  him  to  give  me  at  least  thoughtful  attention  when  I  brought 
the  subject  up  at  a  meeting  of  the  board.  Wlhen  enough  people  seemed  in- 
terested, I  went  before  the  county  commissioners  and  asked  for  an  appro- 
priation for  our  health  campaign;  if  nothing  more,  enough  money  so  that  we 
could  "try  out"  our  plan. 

When  I  went  before  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  I  found  that 
they  had  been  interviewed  by  public-spirited  people,  and  that  they  were  will- 

41 


ing  to  at  least  listen  to  what  I  had  to  say.  After  discussing  the  matter  fully, 
the  county  commissioners  said,  "What  is  the  least  sum  of  money  you  must 
have  to  try  out  your  plan?"  I  wanted  to  go  on  record  as  spending  just  as 
little  money  as  possible,  so  I  said,  "If  you  will  give  me  three  hundred  dol- 
lars, out  of  which  I  will  pay  the  nurse's  salary  and  part  of  her  living  ex- 
penses, I  will  furnish  her  traveling  expenses."  (I  am  paid  a  flat  rate  of 
traveling,  and  as  I  planned  to  count  the  visits  the  nurse  and  I  made  to  each 
school  as  one  of  my  regular  visits,  I  reasoned  that  I  could  finance  the  nurse's 
traveling  without  too  great  an  expense  to  myself.) 

Getting  the  three-hundred-dollar  appropriation  did  not  quite  settle  the 
money  side  of  our  plan  for  a  health  campaign,  for  three  years  ago  it  was  not 
legal  here  in  Minnesota  to  appropriate  public  money  for  health  work  out- 
side the  big  cities.  We  therefore  had  to  hire  the  nurse  as  "Assistant  County 
•Superintendent  of  Schools."  Let  me  add,  in  passing,  that  at  the  last  ses- 
ision  of  the  legislature,  a  bill  was  passed  making  it  permissible  for  city  and 
/village  councils,  boards  of  county  commissioners,  and  town  boards,  to  env 
»ploy  public  health  nurses. 

Our  next  move  was  to  hire  a  competent  nurse,  for  we  realized  that  the 
success  of  our  experiment  depended  very  largely  on  the  kind  of  a  nurse  we 
".hired.  Through  the  Minnesota  Public  Health  Association  we  secured  a 
.nurse.  The  forms  on  which  we  kept  our  records  we  secured  through  the 
'State  Board  of  Health.  It  was  the  middle  of  November  when  we  began  our 
work,  but  from  then  until  -Christmas  we  had  good  roads  and  weather,  so 
with  the  use  of  my  Ford  we  made  a  good  start.  We  worked  rapidly,  exam- 
ining as  many  as  89  children  in  a  day  and  visiting  four  schools.  We  do  not 
recommend  such  haste,  but  in  our  case,  it  seemed  absolutely  necessary,  fo> 
we  wanted  to  cover  as  much  of  our  county  as  possible  in  three  months,  and 
we  have  140  schools.  The  children  were  examined  for  any  symptoms  of 
eye,  ear,  nose,  throat,  tooth,  and  skin,  trouble;  in  some  cases  we  took  tem- 
peratures, and  in  others,  throat  cultures.  It  was  necessary  to  make  many 
home  calls  to  talk  with  mothers  about  their  children. 

Yes,  there  was  opposition  to  our  health  work,  and  for  the  first  few  weeks 
we  simply  had  to  turn  deaf  ears  to  this,  and  work  on,  trusting  that  the  re- 
sults would  argue  for  the  work.  Whenever  children  refused  to  be  examined, 
saying,  "My  mother  said  I  did  not  need  to  be  examined  by  the  nurse,"  we 
did  not  argue  with  the  children,  but  after  we  had  finished  our  work  in  that 
particular  school  we  made  a  ''home  visit,"  taking  the  children  in  question 
with  us.  In  every  case  we  found  it  was  a  matter  of  misunderstanding,  and 
the  mother  consented  to  the  examination  when  the  work  was  explained  to 
her.  Sometimes  children  absented  themselves  from  school  when  they  ex- 
pected the  nurse,  but  they  did  not  escape  us,  because  we  made  it  a  point 
to  make  a  home  visit  in  every  case,  and  soon  it  became  noised  about  that 
there  was  no  way  of  escaping  the  nurse. 

You  may  remember  what  kind  of  a  winter  we  had  three  years  ago  in 
Minnesota,  during  January  and  February,  with  the  thermometer  playing 
about  the  thirty-below  mark,  and  the  snow  piled  in  ten-foot  drifts.  Travel- 
ing became  a  positive  hardship,  yet  we  traveled  every  day  that  it  was  at 
all  possible  for  any  human  being  to  be  on  the  road.  During  this  time  we 
had  to  travel  by  team  and  found  it  necessary  to  be  on  the  road  at  seven. 

42 


fifteen  in  the  morning  and  very  often  it  was  eight-thirty  before  we  reached 
town  again,  for  we  often  left  the  last  school  after  six  o'clock.  Once  in  a 
while  we  "tipped  over,"  breaking  the  sleigh,  and,  in  order  to  save  time,  the 
nurse  and  I  gathered  up  our  paraphernalia  and  walked  to  the  nearest  school. 
Yet,  in  spite  of  all  our  efforts,  when  the  three  months  were  up  we  fourid 
we  had  still  twenty  schools  unexamined  by  the  nurse. 

I  went  before  the  county  board  again,  showed  them  the  results  of  the 
work  done,  told  them  about  the  twenty  unexamined  schools,  and  asked  the 
'commissioners  what  they  were  willing  to  do  about  a  new  appropriation. 
Right  here  I  had  a  surprise.  I  was  not  prepared  for  what  happened,  for 
with  one  accord  these  county  commissioners  said,  "How  much  money  do 
'you  need?"  Opposition  never  surprised  me,  I  expected  that,  but  such  co- 
operation was  unlocked  for,  yet  the  commissioners  told  me  how  people  had 
come  to  them  and  said  that  the  health  work  must  be  continued,  that  this 
was  one  time  that  the  county  was  getting  full  returns  for  the  money  ex- 
pended, and  more  to  this  effect.  We  wanted  to  go  on  record  as  not  using 
one  cent  more  for  this  work  than  was  absolutely  necessary,  so  we  agreed  to 
'use  two  hundred  dollars  more,  and  this,  in  addition  to  the  money  we  had 
earned  from  the  sale  of  Red  Cross  seals,  made  it  possible  for  us  to  continue 
our  work  until  June,  giving  us  six  months  in  all. 

Renville  county  is  prosperous;  there  are  few  poor  people;  no  child  is 
underfed,  and  no  one  wilfully  neglected;  yet  our  tabulated  report  shows  an 
appalling  amount  of  physical  defectiveness.  Out  of  our  school  population  of 
6,000,  we  examined  5,000  children,  and  found  4,095  defective,  testifying  that 
81  per  cent  of  the  children  were  defective.  This  seems  almost  unbelievable, 
and  yet  it  does  not  tell  the  whole  story,  for  I  could  take  you  to  school  after 
school  where  there  was  100  per  cent  defectiveness,  where  we  sent  a  notice 
to  the  parent  of  every  child  in  that  school.  Lest  you  think  this  is  true  of 
TJJenville  county  only,  let  me  assure  you  that  in  every  county  where  a  sur- 
vey has  been  made  these  figures  have  ben  duplicated.  The  percentage  of 
the  defectiveness  found  were: 

Teeth  55  per  cent 

Nose • 40  per  cent 

Throat   66  per  cent 

Eyes  22  per  cent 

Ears    17  per  cent 

Malnutrition 16  per  cent 

Nervous  disorder 16  per  cent 

Neck    glands 14  per  cent 

Skin    13  per  cent 

General  appearances 12  per  cent 

We  feel  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  over-emphasize  the  importance 
of  educating  the  general  public  in  the  care  of  the  teeth,  when  it  is  found  that 
65  per  cent  of  the  children  of  school  age  have  defective  teeth.  1  lay  no 
claim  to  medical  training,  I  am  merely  quoting  men  of  high  standing  in  the 
medical  profession  when  I  say  that  we  are  awakening  to  a  realization  of  the 
fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  our  physical  ills  are  due  to  defective  teeth; 
this,  in  turn,  due  to  our  ignorance  of  the  care  of  teeth.  We  kept  our  nurse 

43 


'very  busy  telling  the  people  of  our  county  that  children's  baby  teeth  are 
of  some  use.  She  argued  that  the  teeth  are  in  the  jaws  to  keep  the  jaws  in 
shape  even  before  the  teeth  can  be  seen,  and  because  of  this  they  are  evi- 
dently intended  to  help  keep  the  jaw  in  shape  until  the  second  teeth  make 
their  appearance;  that  decayed  baby  teeth  if  left  in  the  jaw  too  long  are  a 
menace  to  the  second  teeth.  On  the  other  hand  we  found  it  necessary  to 
warn  mothers  against  extracting  what  they  supposed  were  baby  teeth,  for 
we  found  that  not  infrequently  mothers  made  the  mistake  of  extracting  the 
'second  teeth,  thinking  they  were  extracting  the  baby  teeth.  We  have  a 
plaster  of  Paris  impression  of  the  jaw  of  a  little  boy  whose  mother  made 
just  such  a  mistake  as  this.  This  has  all  served  to  help  convince  the  people 
of  Renville  county  that  medical  inspection  for  the  children  of  the  county  is 
necessary. 

The  40  per  cent  of  nose  trouble  represents  the  children  who  were  mouth- 
breathers  from  some  cause  or  other;  in  a  great  many  cases  from  adenoids. 
Children  who  are  mouth-breathers  are  a  prey  to  many  diseases.  Almost  in- 
variably they  have  throat  trouble.  Our  explanation  of  this  to  the  people  of 
our  county  is  as  follows:  It  was  intended  that  we  should  breathe  through 
our  noses  and  for  this  purpose  the  membrane  of  the  nose  is  lined  with  haira 
that  catch  and  hold  the  dust  and  germs  in  the  air  as  it  passes  through  the 
nose.  Where  there  is  an  obstruction  in  the  nose,  the  child  opens  his  mouth 
to  breathe  and  gulps  down  dust  and  germs;  some  of  this  lodges  in  the  ton- 
sils (consequently  the  throat  trouble  spoken  of);  some  goes  to  the  lungs;  and 
some,  to  the  stomach. 

Aside  from  all  this,  mouth-breathing  actually  helps  to  deform  the  face. 
I  can  best  illustrate  this  by  referring  to  some  plaster  of  Paris  impressions 
which  I  have.  One  is  of  a  girl  sixteen  years  of  age,  who  apparently  had  had 
'adenoids  for  many  years.  In  order  to  breathe  she  had  to  open  her  mouth. 
Dentists  tell  us  that  teeth  "seek  opposition";  that  is,  they  must  grind  against 
each  other  in  order  to  do  their  work.  Consequently  they  seem  to  have  a 
faculty  for  reaching  out  and  out  for  this  contact,  which  is  just  what  this 
'girl's  teeth  did,  and  in  reaching  out  they  put  the  jaw  out  of  shape,  making 
it  almost  triangular.  She  is  today  wearing  a  brace,  trying  to  straighten  her 
teeth. 

The  other  impression  is  of  the  face  of  a  boy  fourteen  years  of  age.  Be- 
cause of  adenoids  his  upper  teeth  protrude,  his  nose  is  undeveloped,  and 
there  is  a  dead  expression  under  his  eyes.  To  my  certain  knowledge  this  is 
typical  of  many  of  our  school  children.  The  boy  in  question  had  a  skillful 
operation  performed  and  his  adenoids  and  tonsils  removed.  He  then  went 
to  a  dentist,  Dr.  Miller,  of  Bird  Island,  and  had  his  teeth  straightened.  Just 
eight  months  later  another  impression  was  taken,  which  shows  that  he  now 
has  a  well-shaped  month,  a  better-shaped  nose,  and  an  entirely  different  ex- 
pression to  his  face.  We  must  of  course  remember  that  this  boy  was  but 
fourteen  and  was  growing  rapidly;  hence  the  marked  change  in  so  short  a 
time.  One  time,  at  the  close  of  a  farmers'  meeting  in  our  county,  where  I 
had  told  of  this  boy  and  showed  the  masks,  a  very  conservative  old  man  came 
up  and  said  he  would  like  to  see  those  faces  again.  After  looking  at  the  two 
masks  he  said,  "I  know  a  number  of  persons  that  look  like  that,  but  I  thought 

44 


that  they  were  just  plain  homely.  I  had  no  idea  that  they  could  be  fixed 
up." 

The  22  per  cent  eye  trouble  represents  in  many  cases  children  who  were 
partially  blind,  and  the  17  per  cent  ear  trouble  children  who  were  partially 
deaf;  yet  often  neither  they  nor  their  parents  were  aware  of  this.  Parents 
:are  not  skilled  in  looking  for  physical  defects,  and  it  is  quite  possible  for 
them  to  be  unaware  of  some  physical  defect  in  their  children.  I  remember 
one  mother  who  was  much  opposed  at  first  to  the  work  of  the  nurse,  saying 
Sihe  did  not  need  anyone  to  come  and  tell  her  how  to  take  care  of  her  chil- 
dren; that  she  considered  it  a  waste  of  good  money,  etc.  Yet,  when  her 
eight-year-old  girl  was  examined,  we  found  she  had  entirely  lost  the  sight  in 
one  eye.  Can't  you  see  that  by  the  time  she  was  a  woman  grown  her  chances 
of  being  stone  blind  would  have  been  very  good  indeed?  Does  that  mother 
have  anything  to  say  against  the  work  of  the  nurse  now?  Instead  she  won- 
ders why  the  work  was  not  started  sooner. 

Just  a  word  about  malnutrition.  As  stated  before,  we  have  very  few  poor 
Pie;o!ple  in  Renville  county;  the  children  get  all  they  want  to  eat;  yet  our 
records  show  that  16  per  cent  of  the  children  were  underfed;  these  children 
in  most  cases  were  physically  unfit  to  assimilate  properly  the  food  they  at*. 
Maybe  their  diseased  tonsils  were  dripping  pus  into  their  system;  maybe 
with  every  mouthful  of  food  they  took  a  little  decay  from  decayed  teeth; 
and  so  on. 

Note  the  large  number  of  cases  of  neck  glands.  In  many  cases  this  in- 
dicated the  presence  of  some  poison  in  the  body  that  the  system  could  not 
get  rid  of.  If  it  becomes  chronic,  it  may  indicate  the  presence  of  tubercular 
germs. 

Just  here  some  one  may  ask,  "What  of  it?  What  is  the  good  of  telling 
the  parents  about  the  defects  of  their  children?"  You  remember  we  began 
the  work  in  November.  Before  the  following  September  we  knew  of  1,000 
Children  that  had  been  taken  to  the  doctor;  and  doubtless  many  more  that 
we  knew  nothing  about  were  also  taken. 

I  want  to  touch  briefly  upon  some  of  the  work  the  nurse  did  other  than 
examine  the  children  in  school.  I^ast  summer  we  scheduled  a  number  of  so- 
called  "baby  clinics,"  after  taking  a  census  of  all  the  children  in  our  county 
[under  school  age.  At  these  clinics,  one  of  which  was  held  in  every  village 
and  one  in  each  township,  these  children  of  pre-school  age  were  examined. 
This  served  to  begin  our  work  with  the  children  before  they  fcame  to  school, 
and  seemed  to  bring  us  a  little  nearer  to  the  glad  day  when  children  will  be 
made  physically  fit  before  they  begin  school. 

In  detecting  and  helping  to  put  down  epidemics,  the  nurse  was  almost 
invaluable.  Many  people  do  not  call  a  doctor  until  some  one  is  seriously  ill; 
meanwhile  the  person  only  mildly  ill  may  be  coming  down  with  some  con- 
fyagious  disease  which  he  gives  to  those  who  come  in  contact  with  him  be- 
fore he  is  aware  of  it. 

Besides  examining  the  children,  the  nurse  has  been  a  great  factor  in 
bringing  about  a  general  education  for  better  health.  In  our  country  today 
you  are  decidedly  behind  the  times  if  you  do  not  know  what  adenoids  are  and 
the  havoc  bad  tonsils  can  bring;  why  eye-strain  is  so  prevalent,  and  how  to 
prevent  it;  why  teeth  should  be  taken  care  of;  why  we  should  drink  plenty 

45 


of  water  and  eat  proper  kind  of  food;  what  kind  of  clothing  is  best  to  wear, 
and  why  we  should  not  wear  too  heavy  or  too  much  clothing  while  indoors — 
we  induced  one  little  child  to  remove  one  coat  and  three  sweaters  while  in 
school — the  need  for  cleanliness,  etc. 

Since  the  first  year  Renville  county  has  been  appropriating  two  thou- 
sand dollars  for  the  health  work  each  year,  and  even  those  who  habitually 
talk  against  "high  tax"  have  been  quieted  when  they  found  this  meant  not 
more  than  forty-eight  cents  per  quarter  section  for  any  farmer.  As  one  man 
said,  "Why,  I'd  smoke  that  up  in  a  day  or  two;  if  it's  going  to  do  the  chil- 
dren any  good,  go  ahead." 

Following  the  work  of  the  nurse  came  a  veritable  epidemic  of  school- 
house  improvements.  Because  the  nurse  could  show  that  poor  lighting,  poor 
toilet  facilities,  and  poor  water  supply,  meant  that  the  children  were  not 
so  well  as  they  should  be,  school  boards  set  about  righting  conditions.  The 
cross-lighting  was  eliminated  by  moving  the  windows  to  one  side  of  the 
room;  the  walls  and  ceiling  were  painted  a  light  color  instead  of  dark  red 
or  green  formerly  so  popular  because  "it  does  not  show  the  dirt";  new 
desks  of  various  sizes  and  ajustable,  were  purchased,  so  that  pupils  could 
be  seated  properly;  school  buildings  were  enlarged  to  counteract  the  over- 
crowding; wells  were  dug  on  school  grounds  or  definite  arrangements  made 
to  haul  water  to  school  so  that  children  could  have  water  to  drink  whenever 
they  wanted  it.  In  short,  all  the  improvements  I  had  talked  about  so  long 
without  making  much  of  an  impression  on  the  school  boards,  came  as  by 
magic  when  the  nurse  finished  her  work. 

Here  in  Renville  county  we  believe  that  we  are  thinking  a  little  bit  less 
in  terms  of  dollars  and  cents  and  a  little  bit  more  in  terms  of  humanity. 
In  short,  I  believe  we  have  breathed  that  prayer  of  Nellie  McClung  and  heard 
its  answer: 

"Lord,  take  us  up  to  the  heights 

And  show  us  thy  glory, 

Show  us  a  nation  or  empire, 

Tell  us  its  story; 

Tell  it  out  plain, 

For  our  eyes  and  our  ears  have  grown  holden, 

We've  forgotten  that  anything  other  than  money  is  golden. 

Grubbing  away  in  the  valley  somehow  has  darkened  our  eyes, 

Watching  the  ground  and  the  crops 

We've  forgotten  the  skies. 

But,  Lord,  if  Thou  wilt 

Thou  canst  take  us  today 

To  the  Mount  of  Decision 

And  show  us  the  land  that  we  live  in 

With  glorified  vision." 

Mr.  Wheelock:  It  would  be  like  attempting  to  paint  the  lily  to  add  any- 
thing to  what  Miss  Bengtson  has  said  in  her  message,  but  I  believe  it  should 
be  carried  by  her  to  every  county  in  this  state,  and  if  there  is  any  way  that 
such  a  program  can  be  financed,  I  think  we  all  ought  to  co-operate  in  that 
direction.  Unquestionably  her  work  in  Renville  county  has  resulted  in  the 

46 


recognition  of  these  efforts  by  the  legislature,  and  we  shall  be  remiss  in  our 
duty  if  we  do  not  follow  this  wonderful  vision  which  she  has  painted  for  us 
and  see  that  all  of  the  counties  get  the  benefit  of  this  splendid  work  in  which 
she  is  the  pioneer. 

We  will  now  hear  from  Mr.  Gardiner,  state  commissioner  of  labor,  who 
will  discuss  the  child  labor  laws  of  Minnesota.  He  is  one  of  our  state  offi- 
cials who  has  worked  up  from  the  bottom,  and  I  consider  him  one  of  the 
best  equipped  men  in  this  particular  line  of  work,  because  he  not  only  has 
the  ability  to  carry  out  his  ideas,  but  has  the  heart  and  soul  that  go  with  all 
real  welfare  work. 


47 


MINNESOTA  CHILD  LABOR  LAWS  AND  THEIR 
ENFORCEMENT 

John  P.  Gardiner,  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

'Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  esteem  it  quite  a  pleasure  to 
have  the  privilege  of  addressing  a  meeting  of  this  kind,  especially  when' 
there  are  so  many  here  who  have  shown  such  a  deep  interest  and  have  been 
so  zealous  in  their  efforts  and  in  their  endeavors  to  protect  the  children  who 
will  make  up  our  coming  generation. 

The  child  labor  problems  are  sometimes  quite  perplexing  from  the  view- 
point of  the  members  of  the  department  of  labor,  especially  the  inspectors 
in  the  Bureau  of  Women  and  Children,  who  have  to  deal  largely  with  that 
question.  The  perplexities  that  confront  them  and  also  the  commissioner  of 
labor,  irrespective  of  who  it  may  be,  are  heartrending;  in  fact,  I  might  say  at 
times  blood-curdling. 

I  have  prefaced  my  paper  with  these  remarks  because  I  did  not  touch 
upon  this  one  particular  phase,  viz:  the  elimination  of  the  poverty  clause, 
as  an  excuse  for  permitting  children  to  work  in  the  factories,  mills  and 
workshops  of  this  state.  The  elimination  of  the  poverty  clause  was  one  of 
the  best  things  that  the  legislature  ever  did,  I  think,  because  it  awakens  the 
responsibility  of  society  to  the  need  that  a  child,  because  poverty  exists  in 
the  family,  should  not  be  deprived  of  an  education  that  should  fit  it  for  its 
future  vocation  in  life.  If  the  mere  pittance  that  that  child  is  able  to  earn 
between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age  is  necessary  to  help  support  the 
family  or  support  the  child  itself,  then  I  maintain  that  it  is  a  crime  to  de- 
prive that  child  of  the  education  afforded  it  and  which  is  free  to  every 
American  child,  simply  because  there  is  poverty  in  the  family  and  the  mere 
pittance,  as  I  have  stated,  is  necessary  to  help  support  the  family.  The  state 
or  society  must  take  hold  of  that  situation  and  see  to  it  that  the  family  gets 
the  amount  of  money  that  the  boy  or  girl  could  earn  from  some  other  source 
and  give  the,  child  an  education. 

In  preparing  the  paper  for  this  occasion  today,  I  have  tried  to  cover  as 
many  phases  of  the  child  labor  law  as  it  was  possible  to  cover  in  the  space 
of  time  allotted. 

At  the  first  session  of  the  Minnesota  legislature  in  1858  a  law  was 
passed  entitled,  "An  act  for  the  regulation  of  labor,"  which  fixed  the 
hours  of  labor  of  women  and  children  under  18'  years  of  age,  in  the; 
absence  of  a  contract  to  the  contrary,  at  ten  hours  a  day.  The  power 
to  contract  to  work  more  than  ten  hours  a  day  of  course  made  the  law 
of  little  effect.  In  1879  "act  for  the  protection  of  children  within  the 
state  of  Minnesota"  was  passed  which  forbade  employment  of  any  child 
under  the  age  of  14  as  a  beggar,  gymnast,  contortionist,  acrobat,  rider, 
or  at  any  occupation  dangerous  to  morals,  or  in  any  "exhibition  or  voca- 
tion injurious  to  the  health  or  dangerous  to  the  life  or  limb  of  such 
child,"  and  also  prohibited  cruelty  to  children.  In  1885  the  penal  code 
was  amended  to  forbid  any  person  from  wilfully  causing  or  permitting 
the  life  or  health  or  morals  of  a  minor  to  be  endangered  or  to  employ 

48 


or  cause  to  be  employed  any  child  under  16  years  of  age  in  the  occupa- 
tions forbidden  by  the  law  of  1879.  In  1893  this  law  was  amended  to 
prohibit  any  child  under  16  years  of  age  from  labor  of  any  kind  outside 
the  family  of  such  child's  residence  before  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning 
or  after  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  "to  prohibit  any  person  from 
compelling  any  child  under  16  years  of  age  to  work  more  than  ten  hours 
in  any  one  day  in  any  factory,  workshop  or  mercantile  or  manufacturing 
business. 

The  first  comprehensive  child  labor  law  was  passed  in  1895.  Its 
principal  provisions  were:  (1)  that  no  child  under  14  years  of  age  could 
be  employed  at  any  time  in  or  about  any  factory,  workshop,  or  mine;  (2) 
that  no  child  could  be  employed  for  wages  before  7  a.  m.  or  after  6  p.  m.; 
(3)  that  no  child  under  the  age  at  which  all  children  are  required  by 
law  to  attend  school  could  be  employed  at  any  occupation  during  the 
hours  when  the  public  schools  were  in  session;  (4)  that  the  labor  commis- 
sioner and  his  assistants  could  forbid  the  employment  of  any  child  un- 
able to  secure  a  certificate  of  physical  fitness  for  the  occupation  in  which 
he  desired  to  engage;  (5)  that  no  child  could  be  employed  who  could 
not  read  and  write  simple  sentences  in  the  English  language,  except  dur- 
ing vacation,  unless  the  child  was  a  regular  attendant  at  some  day  or 
evening  school;  (6)  that  no  child  under  16  years  of  age  could  be  em- 
ployed unless  his  employer  procured  an  employment  certificate,  but  such 
certificates  could  be  given  any  child  12  years  of  age  able  to  read  and 
write  the  English  language  if  his  labor  was  necessary  for  the  support 
of  its  family  or  his  own  support. 

In  the  enforcement  of  this  law  it  was  found  to  contain  numerous 
ambiguous  phrases  and  to  be  filled  with  loopholes  large  enough  for  the 
biggest  offender  to  crawl  through.  At  succeeding  sessions  of  the  legisla- 
ture, efforts  were  made  to  remove  the  ambiguities  and  to  close  the  loop- 
holes, but  not  always  with  success.  The  law  was  re-enacted  in  1907  and 
it  was  hoped  that  all  the  loopholes  were  closed,  but  again  prosecutions 
disclosed  a  number  of  them. 

The  present  law  was  passed  at  the  special  session  in  1912.  It  has 
been  stated  by  the  secretary  of  the  National  Child  Labor  Committee  that 
it  is  one  of  the  six  best  child  labor  laws  in  the  country.  Its  most  note- 
worthy feature  was  the  elimination  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  both  branches  of 
the  legislature  of  the  poverty  clause  as  a  reason  for  granting  an  employ- 
ment certificate.  Other  important  additions  were  a  section  naming  a 
list  of  prohibited  occupations;  prohibiting  the  carrying  of  messages  at 
night  by  boys  under  18  years  of  age,  and  at  any  time  by  girls  under  21 
years.  It  also  successfully  closed  most  of  the  loopholes  in  the  other  laws 
and  made  convictions  more  possible. 

I  mention  these  loopholes  particularly  because  in  my  opinion  they 
were  responsible  for  much  of  the  laxity  apparent  in  the  enforcement  of 
the  child  labor  law  for  so  many  years.  On  paper  the  law  seemed  to  be  good, 
but  most  requests  for  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  a  presumed  violator 
disclosed  some  flaw  in  the  law  through  which  he  could  escape  conviction. 
Prosecuting  officials  were  loath  to  issue  warrants  under  the  circum- 
stances, numerous  prosecutions  having  resulted  in  failure.  The  officials 

49 


of  the  bureau  of  labor  and  the  school  authorities  were  afraid  to  have  a 
knowledge  of  the  weakness  of  the  law  become  generally  known,  for  fear 
it  would  result  in  a  general  exodus  of  children  from  school  to  employment. 
To  prevent  this  they  resorted  more  to  persuasion  and  bluff  to  secure  com- 
pliance with  the  intent  and  spirit  of  the  law. 

In  this  way  there  grew  into  the  department  a  temporizing  policy 
with  offenders.  The  least  extenuating  or  mitigating  circumstance  was 
permitted  to  prevent  prosecution.  The  offender  was  warned  that  repeti- 
tion would  result  in  his  going  to  court.  On  the  next  violation  he  was 
again  told  the  same  thing  and  there  are  some  offenders  who  have  been 
warned  at  least  half  a  dozen  times.  Frequent  changes  in  commissioners 
and  inspectors  was  also  responsible  for  the  upgrowth  of  this  policy.  The 
offender  is  often  a  prominent  business  man;  he  has  a  plausible  story  to 
tell,  usually  placing  the  blame  upon  his  foreman  and  stating  that  his  in- 
structions were  disobeyed.  It  takes  some  time  for  the  inspector  to  be- 
come convinced  that  the  violations  are  wilfull  or  the  result  of  indifference 
to  the  law. 

This  policy  we  now  intend  to  change.  In  the  two  years  ending  June 
30,  1916,  there  were  reported  to  the  department,  by  its  inspectors,  981 
children  illegally  employed.  There  were  only  22  prosecutions.  In  the 
biennial  period  ending  June  30,  1918,  they  reported  1,278  children  illegally 
employed  with  but  23  prosecutions.  Although  the  scarcity  of  labor  last 
fall  caused  many  employers  to  feel  themselves  justified  in  giving  em- 
ployment to  children,  and  offered  that  and  the  high  cost  of  living  as  a 
mitigating  circumstance,  we  have  in  the  last  ten  months  had  29  prose- 
cutions to  our  credit.  Now  that  the  excuse  is  exhausted,  and  believing 
that  every  person  should  be  conversant  with  the  child  labor  laws,  we 
intend  to  reform.  The  temporizing  policy  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  There 
may  at  times  be  extenuating  circumstances,  but  hereafter  we  expect  to 
let  every  apparently  wilfull  and  indifferent  violator  explain  his  case  to 
the  judge. 

Two  recent  decisions  of  our  supreme  court  should  have  a  salutary 
effect  in  securing  a  strict  compliance  with  the  law.  In  Westerlund  vs. 
Kettle  River  Co.,  May  18,  1917  (162  N.  W.  680),  the  court  has  practically 
held  that  the  law  prohibits  any  employment  under  16  years  of  age  that 
the  employer  knows  or  has  reason  to  know  is  of  a  hazardous  nature.  The 
court  says  in  part,  "It  requires  no  extended  arguments  or  discussion  to 
demonstrate  that  it  is  just  as  dangerous  to  a  child  to  be  set  to  work  in 
a  factory,  machine  shop,  or  other  like  industry  where  he  will  be  hourly 
exposed  to  injury  from  machinery  in  operation,  as  to  set  him  to  work  in 
operating  or  assisting  in  operating  the  same.  Danger  of  injury  of  that 
character  is  what  the  legislature  intended  to  guard  against,  and  not  es- 
pecially the  dangers  incident  to  a  particular  employment." 

It  was  held  in  this  case  that  the  injury  did  not  come  under  the  work- 
men's compensation  law,  and  was  referred  back  to  the  lower  court  for 
trial  under  the  liability  law.  We  do  not  kno^  the  final  outcome. 

In  Gutman  vs.  Anderson  (17!1  N.  W.  303),  the  court  also  held  that 
the  injury  did  not  come  under  the  compensation  law,  as  the  child  was 
illegally  employed.  The  supreme  court  affirmed  the  verdict  of  $8,500  for 

50 


the  loss  of  the  fingers  of  one  hand-  as  not  being  excessive.     Under  the 
compensation  law  the  amount  recovered  would  have  been  $300. 

The  fact  that  injuries  to  children  illegally  employed  do  not  come 
under  the  compensation  act  will  soon  impress  itself  on  the  employers. 
A  few  more  large  verdicts  will  no  doubt  aid  in  convincing  them  of  the 
danger  involved  and  inculcate  a  more  profound  respect  for  the  provisions 
of  the  child  labor  law.  In  this  regard,  I  desire  to  call  attention  to  one 
form  of  violation  that  most  school  authorities  are  evidently  not  familiar 
with. 

The  law  prohibits  the  employment  "during  the  term  the  schools  are  in 
session."  This  the  attorney  general  construes  to  prohibit  employment 
after  school  and  Saturdays  unless  the  child  has  an  employment  certifi- 
cate legally  issued.  Violations  of  this  nature  have  ben  quite  general,  but 
we  are  doing  our  best  to  spread  the  information  that  the  employment  is 
illegal. 

All  of  the  blame  for  failure  to  strictly  enforce  the  law  should  not, 
however,  be  placed  on  this  department.  At  times  we  have  had  great 
difficulty  in  getting  the  cooperation  we  needed  from  school  officials,  prose- 
cuting officers  and  judges.  But  this  condition  is  rapidly  changing.  And 
with  the  aid  of  the  county  welfare  boards  we  should  be  able  to  remove 
most  of  those  factors  that  have  mitigated  against  successful  law  en- 
forcement. 

In  spite  of  the  showing  made,  I  do  not  wish  to  leave  the  impression 
that  child  labor  in  this  state  is  on  the  increase.  On  the  contrary,  since 
1907  there  has  been  considerable  decrease.  The  number  of  certificates 
issued  annually  since  1907  and  the  increase  or  decrease  from  the  prev- 
ious year  is  as  follows: 

Increase 
or  Decrease  Per  Cent 

from  of  Increase  or 

Year.  Certificates  Previous  Decrease  from 

Issued.  Year.  Previous  Year. 

1907-08 1,827  ...  

1908-09...  - •    1,707  120  —6.6% 

1909-10 1,545  162  —9.5% 

1910-11 1,140  405  — IW.2% 

1911-12 731  409  —35.8% 

1912-13 644  87  —11.9% 

1913-14 713  +259  +42.7% 

1914-16 / 550  363  —39.7% 

1915-16  638  +88  +16.0% 

1916-17'..  : 845  +207  +32.4% 

1917-18...  1,047  +202  +24.3% 


—  Denotes  decrease. 
+  Denotes  increase. 

The  increase  in  the  last  three  years  is  due  in  part  to  opportunities 
and  high  wages  caused  by  war  work.  It  is  due  in  part  also  to  stricter 
law  enforcement  in  some  localities.  This  has  resulted  in  more  legal  and 
illegal  employment.  The  largest  increase  in  any  one  locality  was  in 
Minneapolis,  and  there  is  no  city  in  the  state  where  child  labor  and 
school  attendance  laws  are  better  enforced.  There  at  least  the  increase 
is  due  mostly  to  the  last  cause  mentioned.  In  my  opinion  the  actual  in- 
crease in  children  employed  was  nominal. 

The  effect  of  the  elimination  of  the  poverty  clause  and  also  the  at- 
titude of  officials  who  issue  certificates  is  shown,  in  a  comparative  table 

51 


of  the  reasons  advanced  by  them  for  issuing  certificates  for  the  two  years 
ending  June  30,  1914,  and  1918,  respectively,  the  first  year  after  the 
elimination  and  last  year; 

1913-1914.  1917-1918. 

Graduates  of  eighth  grade 55>2  of  60.4%  1,031  or  98.5% 

Poverty    218  or  23.9%  12  or    1.2% 

Good  of  the  child 60  or    6.6% 

Age  (nearly  sixteen  years  old) 59  or    6.5% 

Physical  incapacity  to  study 10  or    1.1% 

Special    11  or    1.2%  4  or      .3% 

Reason  not  given  3  or     .3% 


913  1.047 

In  the  first  period  only  about  62  per  cent  were  legally  issued,  while 
in  the  latter  period  they  represent  98.5  per  cent.  Almost  a  perfect  record. 

In  our  recent  efforts  to  prevent  employment  after  school  and  on  Sat- 
urdays we  have  had  a  number  of  parents  protest  against  what  they  claimed 
was  an  injust  law.  They  are  almost  unanimous  in  one  statement:  "that 
the  child  gets  into  mischief  unless  he  is  employed  during  that  time." 
But  this  week  one  of  our  inspectors  called  on  a  mother  in  the  course  of  her 
investigation  of  a  case,  and  was  surprised  when  the  mother  told  her  that 
she  attributes  all  her  boy's  waywardness  to  the  fact  that  he  formerly 
had  a  newspaper  route,  and  in  the  course  of  his  work  he  fell  in  with  evil 
companions.  Later  he  worked  at  a  moving  picture  theatre  and  became 
"show  crazy."  He  has  run  away  from  home  three  times  and  has  become 
almost  unmanageable. 

An  effort  to  permit  employment  of  this  nature  was  proposed  in  an 
amendment  to  the  law  in  connection  with  a  proposal  for  continuation 
schools,  and  failed  at  this  session  of  the  legislature.  In  the  light  of  the 
opinion  of  that  one  mother  it  would  seem  doubtful  if  that  was  the  wisest 
course  to  pursue.  At  any  rate,  employment  during  those  hours  should  be 
under  careful  surveillance,  if  at  all  permitted. 

I  have  no  suggestions  to  offer  at  this  time  for  amendments  to  the  law. 
It  would  seem  to  me  the  best  policy  to  first  strictly  enforce  the  standards 
we  already  have  before  attempting  to  improve  them.  Then  if  we  find 
weak  spots  or  injustices,  or  experience  develops  needed  improvements, 
we  will  be  in  a  position  to  back  up  our  requests  with  the  data  necessary 
to  convince  the  legislature. 

I  desire  to  thank  you  for  this  opportunity  to  address  you  upon  so 
important  a  subject  as  the  subject  of  child  labor,  and  one  that  means 
so  much  to  the  rising  generation.  Let  us  all  strive  to  make  the  pathway 
of  life  easier  for  our  children  by  keeping  them  from  the  factory,  mill  and 
workshop,  and  in  the  fresh  air  and  the  sunshine,  so  they  will  develop  a 
stronger  manhood  and  womanhood,  become  better  citizens,  and  transmit 
our  civilization  on  a  higher  plane  to  their  descendants. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  say  that  in  your  efforts  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  the  children  of  the  state  I  pledge  you  the  hearty  cooperation  of  all  the 
members  of  our  department 

Mr.  Wheelock:  We  had  expected  to  have  Mr.  Phillips  address  us 
this  afternoon,  but  I  believe  Mr.  Challman  is  to  greet  us. 


52 


COMPULSORY  SCHOOL  LAWS 

S.  A.  Challman,  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  St.  Paul. 

The  recent  revelations  from  the  examination  of  the  young  men  enlisted 
and  drafted  into  the  army  as  regards  their  intellectual  acquirements,  has 
brought  into  prominence  the  compulsory  education  law.  In  discussing 
the  compulsory  education  law,  I  feel  that  we  ought  to  have  clearly  in  our 
minds  a  distinction  between  school  age  and  compulsory  education  age. 

The  law  provides  that  the  public  schools  shall  be  open  to  all  children 
between  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty-one,  but  makes  provision  that  school 
boards  may  exclude  children  below  six  years  of  age.  The  school  age,  there- 
fore, is  from  five  to  twenty-one. 

The  compulsory  education  law  prescribes  the  ages  of  eight  to  sixteen 
as  those  within  which  children  must  attend  school. 

At  the  last  session  of  the  legislature  this  law  was  amended  in  so  far 
that  it  describes  the  kind  of  school  to  which  a  child  may  be  sent,  and 
provides  that  any  school  to  which  the  compulsory  education  law  applies 
shall  be  a  school  in  which  the  subjects  of  which  the  school  curriculum 
consists  are  taught  in  the  English  language  from  books  written  in  the  Eng- 
lish language.  It  provides  that  a  foreign  tongue  may  be  taught  only  to  the 
extent  of  one  hour  per  day.  ;We  have  thus  made  an  advance  at  the  pres- 
ent time  in  our  compulsory  education  law,  so  that  we  can  depend  upon  it 
that  the  children  shall  be  taught  in  the  English  language. 

But  the  law  goes  one  step  farther.  It  provides  that  those  who  are 
employed  as  teachers  in  these  schools  shall  be  fully  qualified  to  teach  the 
subjects  in  the  English  language. 

There  was  one  provision  which  was  deleted  from  the  bill,  however, 
which  is  rather  unfortunate  so  far  as  the  law  is  concerned.  The  local 
school  board  determines  the  qualifications  of  the  teacher  in  the  English 
language,  and  there  is  no  standard  set  in  law  which  determines  just  what 
constitutes  the  proper  qualifications  for  teaching  in  the  English  language. 
We  are  glad,  however,  to  have  this  much  of  the  law  at  the  present  time, 
as  it  will  enable  us  to  arrive  at  some  satisfactory  standards  by  which 
private  schools  may  be  measured. 

The  compulsory  education  law,  as  you  know,  provides  that  children 
may  be  excused  from  attendance  upon  the  schools,  either  public  or  pri- 
vate, for  three  reasons  only: 

1.  That  the  child's  bodily  or  mental  condition  is  such  that  it  cannot 
profitably  attend  the  schools. 

2.  That  the  child  has  already  attained  an  education  which  is  equiva- 
lent to  that  given  in  the  first  eight  years  of  school. 

3.  That  a  child  does  not  live  within  a  reasonable  distance  of  a  school 
and  does  not  have  the  proper  means  of  transportation  for  reaching  that 
school;   and  that  children  may  be  excused  from  school  between  the  first 
of  April  and  the  first  of  November  provided  they  are  above  fourteen  years 
of  age  and  are  needed  at  home,  so  that  the  employment  is  confined  ex- 
clusively to  the  tasks  which  are  needed  in  the  home  or  upon  the  farm. 

53 


But  this  provision,  however,  does  not  apply  to  cities  of  the  first  or  second 
class.  The  provision  further  states  that  it  shall  not  operate  so  that  a 
child  may  be  required  to  attend  school  upon  a  day  when  the  ordinances 
of  his  own  church  require  his  attendance  upon  certain  ceremonies  or  ser- 
vices. 

Now,  as  regards  the  enforcement  of  the  compulsory  education  law: 
It  provides  that  the  clerk  of  the  school  board,  or  any  other  authorized 
person,  shall  submit  to  the  teacher,  the  principal,  or  the  superintendent, 
a  list  of  all  the  children  between  the  ages  of  six  and  sixteen;  years;  and 
that  such  teacher,  principal,  or  superintendent,  shall  then  take  such  list 
and  report  to  the  county  attorney  the  names  of  pupils  not  in  attendance. 

The  procedure  is  somewhat  different  for  cities  than  for  country  schools. 
In  country  schools  the  teacher  reports  direct  to  the  county  superintendent. 
In  the  city  schools  the  teacher  reports  to  the  principal  or  city  superinten- 
dent. In  each  case  such  person,  be  he  the  city  superintendent  or  the 
county  superintendent,  shall  report  to  the  county  attorney  the  names  of 
those  between  six  and  sixteen  who  are  not  in  attendance  upon  school. 

The  county  attorney  may  require  such  principal  or  superintendent  to 
file  a  complaint  against  parents  who  do  not  comply  with  the  law.  But 
the  law  does  not  permit  the  filing  of  a  complaint  except  upon  the  request 
of  the  county  attorney.  The  law  provides  that  there  shall  be  a  fine  or 
imprisonment  for  parents  convicted  of  having  kept  children  out  of  school 
without  their  having  been  properly  excused  on  one  of  the  three  grounds 
previously  given.  It  also  provides  for  a  fine  in  case  a  school  official,  a 
teacher,  principal  or  superintendent,  fails  to  make  the  proper  report.  It 
does  not  provide  that  the  county  attorney  is  amenable  in  case  he  does  not 
bring  action,  or  in  case  he  does  not  require  that  a  criminal  complaint  be 
made  out.  It  therefore  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  county  attorney  as 
to  whether  or  not  he  will  insist  upon  the  enforcement  of  the  law. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  record  of  the  children  who  are  of  proper  age  to 
attend  school,  the  law  provides  that  a  census  shall  be  taken  during  the 
months  from  July  to  October.  The  census  provision  is  of  such  a  nature 
that  school  boards  are  the  sole  authority  to  determine  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  it  shall  be  taken.  In  some  places,  therefore,  the  census  is  care- 
fully taken,  and  in  other  places  not  so  carefully.  In  the  main,  however, 
the  census  is  so  taken  that  very  few  children  who  are  of  the  compulsory- 
education  age  escape  being  listed. 

As  you  have  already  heard  from  Mr.  Gardiner,  most  of  the  cases 
come  up  because  of  children's  being  employed  in  industries.  A  very  happy 
relationship  exists  between  our  department  and  the  Depart  of  Labor  and 
Industries.  They  help  us  continually  to  bring  these  cases  to  notice  and 
to  have  the  violators  prosecuted. 

We  feel,  therefore,  that  on  the  whole  the  compulsory  education  laws 
of  this  state  are  observed,  and  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  very  few 
children  who  are  of  such  bodily  and  mental  condition  that  they  can  at- 
tend school  are  absent  during  the  time  that  is  required  by  law. 

Mr.  Merrill:  I  should  like  to  ask  the  speaker  whether  the  ages  in- 
clude the  sixteenth  year,  and  whether  the  local  authority  to  pass  upon 
the  qualifications  of  a  teacher  is  the  county  superintendent  of  schools. 

54 


Mr.  Challman:  In  answer  to  the  first  question,  the  attorney  general 
has  ruled  that  under  the  compulsory  education  law  children  between  the 
ages  of  eight  and  sixteen  must  attend  school.  The  compulsory  education 
law  does  not  apply  to  children  who  have  attained  their  sixteenth  birth- 
day. 

So  far  as  public  schools  are  concerned,  the  state  superintendent  passes 
upon  the  qualifications  of  teachers.  So  far  as  private  schools  are  con- 
cerned, it  would  appear- -this  is  an  inference — that  the  local  school  board 
would  determine  whether  or  not  the  school  maintained  outside  of  the 
public  school  meets  the  requirements  of  the  law. 

G.  A.  Olson,  Chairman  Child  Welfare  Board,  International  Falls:  Sup- 
pose that  the  school  board  refuses  to  get  a  warrant  against  the  parents 
who  decline  to  send  their  children  to  school.  Has  the  principal  any  way 
of  getting  at  that?  Then  suppose  the  district  attorney  also  refuses? 

Mr.  Challman:  In  case  the  district  attorney  refuses,  there  is  nothing 
that  the  district  can  do  so  far  as  the  law  now  provides. 

So  far  as  the  school  board's  refusing,  the  law  states  that  any  school 
officer  failing  or  neglecting  to  perform  any  duty  imposed  upon  him  by  the 
provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

Mr.  Olson:  If  the  district  attorney  won't  give  the  superintendent  a 
warrant  for  the  parties,  is  there  any  other  way  the  superintendent  can  have 
one  sworn  out? 

Mr.  Challman:     Not  that  I  know  of. 

Mr.  Wheelock:  Couldn't  an  appeal  be  made  to  the  attorney  general's 
office? 

Mr.  Challman:     I  suppose  it  could.     That  would  be  the  only  recourse. 

Bessie  Kenney,  Social  Service,  Hennepin  County:  Is  there  any  officer 
with  legal  authority  to  go  into  all  schools  of  the  state  to  determine  whether 
or  not  the  terms  of  the  compulsory  education  law  are  being  adhered  to? 

Mr.  Challman:     There  is  no  such  officer. 

Mrs.  Eugene  Dieudonne,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Janesville:  I  should 
like  to  ask  when  this  law  about  speaking  the  English  language  becomes 
compulsory? 

Mr.  Challman:     So  far  as  I  know  the  act  is  in  effect  now. 

Mrs.  Dieudonne:  If  it  is  not  being  carried  out,  what  can  be  done  about 
it? 

Mr.  Challman:  As  I  said  a  minute  ago,  I  would  infer,  from  combin- 
ing the  various  provisions  of  the  law,  that  the  local  school  board  would 
be  the  only  one  to  determine  whether  or  not  the  school  complies  with 
this  law;  the  school  board  of  the  public  schools. 

Edward  Linquist,  Judge  of  Probate,  Olivia:  In  your  estimation  what 
would  constitute  a  reasonable  walking  distance? 

Mr.  Challman:  The  attorney  general  has  been  frequently  asked  to 
answer  that  question  and  has  refused  to  do  so,  #,nd  I  do  not  believe  I 
ought  to  undertake  to  do  it.  The  local  school  board  must  determine  what 
constitutes  a  reasonable  distance. 

Mr.  Hodson:     And  is  there  no  appeal  from  that? 

Mr.  Challman:     There  is  none. 

Mr.  Wheelock:  I  think  these  questions  and  the  difficulty  Mr.  Chall- 
man has  had  in  answering  them  simply  point  in  one  direction:  If  you 

55 


are  going  to  put  teeth  in  these  laws,  you  have  got  to  insure  their  proper 
enforcement.  The  attorney  general  certainly  has  power  to  perform  a  duty 
which  the  county  attorney  refuses  to  perform.  The  people  of  any  county 
who  have  to  put  up  with  a  county  attorney  who  refuses  to  enforce  laws 
that  are  meant  to  be  enforced  can  always  find  their  remedy  in  aroused 
public  sentiment. 

Jos.  E.  Harris,  Judge  of  Probate,  Bemidji:  We  have  some  timber  in 
Beltrami  county:  One  family  with  three  children  has  been  called  to  my  at- 
tention. They  are  a  mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  schoolhouse  and  the 
brush  is  extremely  thick.  It  is  on  a  section  line.  The  town  board  refuses 
to  put  in  a  road  or  cut  any  way  through  for  those  children  to  go  to  school. 
The  other  school,  which  is  out  of  their  district,  is  five  miles  away.  What 
are  you  going  to  do? 

Mr.  Challman:  I  should  like  to  find  somebody  else  here  who  would 
be  willing  to  answer.  We  have  had  it  put  up  to  us  a  number  of  times,  but 
we  are  unable  to  answer  it. 

A.  C.  Loom  is,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Winona:  The  question  has  come 
up  in  Winona  county.  We  had  a  case  similar  to  that.  The  road  to  the 
school  was  about  five  miles,  but  by  going  over  the  bluff,  which  was  wooded, 
it  was  only  about  a  mile  to  the  school.  The  children  were  out  of  school 
for  several  years  on  the  excuse  of  distance.  This  year  the  county  attorney 
saw  fit  to  have  the  parents  of  those  children  brought  into  court,  and  the 
children  are  now  in  school. 

I  think  it  depends  largely  upon  the  condition  of  the  road  over  which 
the  children  must  travel.  If  it  is  fit  for  those  children  to  walk  through  the 
woods,  I  think  they  can  be  compelled  to,  if  the  county  attorney  and  the 
judge  are  at  all  in  sympathy  with  the  compulsory  education  law. 

Mr.  Challman:  I  can  see  how  a  condition  of  that  kind  might  obtain 
in  Winona  county,  but  I  cannot  exactly  make  that  applicable  to  Beltrami 
county.  I  have  traveled  over  Beltrami  county  and  know  what  the  condi- 
tions there  are  with  reference  to  roads,  particularly  through  the  wood*. 
There  are  cases  of  children  living  the  distance  that  has  just  been  men- 
tioned who  would  find  it  almost  impossible  to  get  to  their  own  school  build- 
ing. 

Mr.  Hodson:  Isn't  it  true  that  for  every  case  constituting  a  bona  fide 
exception,  you  have  several  cases  which  purport  to  be  exceptions,  and 
the  tendency  is,  in  some  districts,  to  take  advantage  of  the  law  and  try 
to  make  it  appear  that  the  individual  case  comes  within  one  of  those  ex- 
ceptions? Therefore,  as  the  chairman  has  said,  the  only  way  to  combat 
the  evil  is  for  the  public  opinion  of  the  county  to  make  itself  felt;  and 
the  members  of  the  child  welfare  boards  can  perform  no  better  service 
than  to  see  that  the  children  are  in  school  and  that  the  county  attorney 
performs  his  duty. 

Judge  Hall:  One  matter  has  just  occurred  to  me.  Why  could  not  this 
matter  of  compelling  attendance  be  handled  by  the  juvenile  court?  I  do 
not  know  whether  our  law  fully  covers  it  or  not.  A  neglected  child  is  one 
abandoned  by  his  parents  or  guardian,  one  who  is  living  with  vicious 
people,  or  one  whose  parents,  though  able  to  do  so,  refuse  to  give  him 
proper  care.  It  has  occurred  to  me  that  a  child  is  neglected  if  his  parents 
do  not  give  him  a  proper  education. 

66 


Mr.  Hodson:  May  I  say,  in  that  same  connection,  that  several ;  able 
lawyers  agree  that  truancy  is  neglect  and  that  such  children  may  be 
brought  before  the  juvenile  court.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  there  has 
been  any  actual  decision  in  the  matter,  but  a  number  of  people  believe  that 
is  the  fact,  and  that  parents  should  be  brought  to  the  juvenile  court  on 
the  ground  of  contributing  to  the  neglect  of  their  own  children  when  they 
are  not  sending  them  to  the  public  school  as  required  by  law. 

H.  J.  Jager,  State  Agent,  State  Public  School:  I  think  any  of  us  pres- 
ent here  today  would  like  to  see  the  piece  of  timber  tall  enough  and  dense 
enough  to  keep  our  children  our  of  school. 

Mrs.  Etta  Miller,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Fergus  Falls:  A  complaint 
came  to  me  of  a  family  in  our  county  who  had  not  sent  their  children  to 
school.  It  was  a  Russian  settlement  and  they  were  about  three  miles  from 
school.  They  would  not  petition  for  a  school  in  that  locality.  What  can 
we  do  for  these  children  in  a  case  like  this? 

Mr.  C  hall  man:     It  would  be  up  to  the  county  superintendent. 

The  only  guide  we  have  with  regard  to  reasonable  distance  is  that 
which  is  given  us  in  the  consolidated  school  law,  which  provides  that 
children  living  beyond  the  two-mile  limit  beyond  the  schoolhouse  should 
be  transported  to  the  school.  That,  would  give  us  some  idea  that  it  was 
to  have  a  two-mile  limit. 

Judge  Hughes:  I  think  the  point  made  by  Judge  Hall  as  to  the  juve- 
nile court's  having  jurisdiction  if  they  do  not  send  their  children  to  school, 
is  a  pretty  good  one. 

I  had  a  case  a  month  ago  where  the  mother  got  angry  with  the  teacher 
and  would  not  send  her  children  to  school.  I  called  her  up  and  said  if 
they  did  not  go  to  school  at  once,  I  would  have  them  called  into  my  court 
and  we  would  take  the  children  away  from  her.  The  children  were  back 
in  school  the  next  day. 

Mrs.  Bert  Sabin,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Crow  Wing  County:  In  our 
district,  to  my  personal  knowledge,  there  has  never  been  a  case  punished 
where  the  children  were  not  sent  to  school.  Our  county  superintendent 
told  me  the  other  day  that  the  law  was  not  back  of  the  school  officers. 

Mr.  Challman:  The  law  is  back  of  any  teacher  or  school  officer,  and 
any  person  connected  with  the  schools  in  that  capacity  is  liable  to  a  fine 
or  imprisonment  for  not  doing  his  duty.  But  there  is  no  law  that  will  com- 
pel a  county  attorney  to  take  action. 

Antoinette  Henderson,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Fergus  Falls:  I  should 
like  to  ask  if  there  is  not  some  way  by  which  parents  may  be  compelled 
to  obtain  excuses  for  their  children  the  first  of  April.  I  find  thejre  are 
many  of  the  children  fourteen  years  old  who  drop  out  of  school  the  first 
of  April.  They  feel  that  they  are  complying  with  the  law;  that  they  are 
allowed  to  leave  school  to  work  at  home.  It  seems  to  me  thie  parents 
should  obtain  legal  excuses,  or  the  school  boards  ought  to  investigate  to 
find  out  whether  it  is  reasonable  for  all  these  children  to  start  work  the 
first  of  April.  I  have  found  quite  a  good  deal  of  trouble  and  that  they  walk 
out  of  school,  drop  out,  without  presenting  to  their  teacher  any  excuse 
whatever. 

Mr.  Challman:  The  law  is  very  plain  upon  that  point.  It  says  that 
such  child  may  be  excused  from  attendance  upon  application  of  his  par- 

57 


ent,  guardian  or  other  person  having  control  of  such  child,  to  any  mem- 
ber of  the  school  board,  truant  officer,  principal,  or  city  superintendent, 
for  the  whole  or  any  part  of  such  period. 

Miss  Henderson:  I  know  that;  but  the  parents  do  not  pay  any  at- 
tention to  that.  They  do  not  pretend  to  get  excuses  in  a  great  many  in- 
stances. I  want  to  know  what  to  do  with  them. 

Mr.  Challman:  Well,  there  is  only  one  thing  to  do  and  that  is  for 
the  teacher  to  report  it  to  the  proper  person,  whether  it  be  a  principal  or 
superintendent;  this  person  in  turn  to  report  to  the  county  attorney. 

Miss  Henderson:  You  cannot  bring  proceedings  against  the  children 
where  they  drop  out  of  school  at  fourteen  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Challman:  Not  against  the  children,  but  against  the  parents.  The 
law  says  the  children  must  be  excused;  it  does  not  say  they  can  drop  out. 

A.  C.  Loom  is:  I  should  like  to  ask  one  question.  The  county  at- 
torney of  Winona  county  is  under  the  impression  that  it  is  necessary  for 
the  county  superintendent  to  notify  the  parents,  and  then,  upon  a  second 
notice  from  the  teacher,  that  it  is  necessary  for  the  county  attorney  to 
notify  the  parents  before  a  warrant  can  be  issued  or  the  arrest  or  prose- 
cution of  that  parent  for  keeping  that  child  out  can  be  made.  This  some- 
times makes  a  delay  of  nearly  two  months  after  the  child  was  first  reported 
as  being  absent;  and  by  that  time  it  will  not  be  possible  for  the  child  to 
keep  up  with  his  class. 

Mr.  Challman:  The  first  contention  is  correct,  that  the  county  superin- 
tendent should  notify  the  parents  or  guardians  who  are  Weeping  children 
out  of  school. 

The  second  contention  is  not  borne  out  by  law.  The  county  attorney 
is  not  obliged  to  notify  the  parents. 

A.  C.  Loom  is:  But  it  is  just  as  this  lady  says,  they  do  not  even  ask 
for  an  excuse  sometimes.  You  will  correspond  with  the  parents  for  per- 
haps two  weeks  before  the  child  returns  to  school;  then  in  a  few  days  he 
is  gone  again. 

Mr.  Challman:  I  can  see  where  time  will  be  wasted  in  trying  to  get 
a  child  back  into  school,  but  the  law  is  explicit  upon  that  point. 

Mary  E.  Bednoiz,  Official  Investigator,  Allowances  to  Mothers, 'Minne- 
apolis: In  my  experience  as  attendance  officer  in  enforcing  the  compul- 
sory education  law  in  Minneapolis,  I  would  serve  a  "court  notice"  on  the 
parent  and  specify  in  the  notice  on  what  day  the  child  should  be  in  school. 
If  the  child  were  not  in  school  on  the  date  specified,  then  proceedings  would 
be  instituted  against  such  parent.  I  do  not  see  why  the  parents  in  rural 
communities  should  not  be  notified  in  some  such  way;  then  institute  pro- 
ceedings against  them  if  they  do  not  comply  with  the  law. 

Miss  Henderson:  The  parents  in  rural  communities  are  notified  in 
that  way.  We  check  through  the  attendance  reports,  and  wherever  a  child 
is  reported  not  excused,  the  parents  of  that  child  are  notified  and  they 
are  notified  by  second  notice.  Usually  we  call  for  a  registered  return  card, 
because  the  county  attorney  refuses  to  start  proceedings  unless  he  has  the 
return  card  to  show  that  the  parent  has  received  that  notice.  We  notify 
time  and  time  again  by  letter;  but  it  is  true,  as  the  gentleman  from  Man- 
kato  has  said,  that  a  lot  of  time  is  wasted.  We  take  it  for  granted  that 
parents  are  interested  enough  in  their  children  to  send  them  to  school,  and 

•    •  68 


the  second  time  that  report  comes  back,  we  watch  for  that  child.  If  the 
child  is  reported  on  the  next  report  as  being  absent,  we  send  a  registered 
letter  to  that  parent.  We  send  a  special  report  to  the  teacher,  telling  her 
to  report  immediately  within  a  reasonable  time,  two  or  three  days,  if  that 
child  has  been  placed  in  school.  If  she  reports  that  the  child  has  not  been 
placed  in  school,  we  turn  all  those  proceedings  over  to  the  county  attorney, 
with  instructions  for  him  to  go  ahead;  but  there  is  a  lot  of  time  wasted, 
two  or  three  months  sometimes. 

Miss  Bednoiz:  We  did  not  waste  very  much  time.  The  parents  were 
given  two  days'  notice  at  the  most.  Then  we  instituted  proceedings  against 
them. 

Lue  A.  Olds,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Granite  Falls:  I  agree  so  heartily 
with  what  the  county  superintendent  just  speaking  has  said  that  I  want 
to  add  a  word. 

When  provision  was  made  for  county  child  welfare  boards,  the  thing 
that  interested  me  from  the  outset  was  the  clause  which  states  that  an 
agent  of  the  board  may  perform  the  duties  of  school  attendance  officers. 

In  Yellow  Medicine  county  there  are  many  troublesome  cases.  One  is 
that  of  a  fourteen-year-old  girl  who  has  not  averaged  forty  days  a  year  in 
school  in  the  las;  six  years.  Time  and  again  the  child  is  reported  for  non- 
attendance  and  a  notice  is  sent  to  her  parents  from  my  office.  A 
letter  from  the  child's  home,  apparently  written  in  good  faith,  invar- 
iably follows,  stating  that  weather  and  roads  have  been  bad,  the  child  has 
been  ill  or  the  mother  has  been  ill;  and  promises  are  made  that  as  soon 
as  possible  the  child  will  be  returned  to  school.  In  a  few  days  she  is  in 
school  again  for  a  short  time,  and  then  she  is  absent  again.  Such  a  case 
cannot  be  settled  satisfactorily  without  careful  investigation,  and  for  this 
the  county  superintendent  does  not  have  time. 

I  am  anxious  for  the  time  when,  in  connection  with  the  county  child 
welfare  board,  we  shall  have  an  executive  agent  who  will  help  in  this 
important  truancy  work.  And  until  we  have  some  such  efficient  help  we 
cannot  keep  all  the  rural  children  in  school. 

Mrs.  Frank  Adams,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Owatonna:  I  have  wished, 
since  I  have  been  here,  that  the  members  of  the  child  welfare  boards  might 
take  an  interest  in  having  the  office  of  county  superintendent  made  an 
appointive  one.  In  many  counties  throughout  the  state  the  county  super- 
intendent is  not  appointed.  If  he  were  appointed,  I  think  we  might  have 
something  which  would  solve  many  of  the  problems  that  we  have  been 
discussing. 


59 


(EVENING  SESSION,  MAY  9.) 

Mr.  Vasaly:  I  trust  I  shall  not  be  misunderstood  when  I  say  that  we 
are  approaching  the  end  of  a  perfect  day.  That  means  that  the  program 
tonight  is  going  to  be  of  a  high  order  of  excellence,  fully  carrying  out  the 
promise  of  the  program  we  have  already  had  today. 

The  first  speaker,  we  all  know,  is  one  who  has  the  widest  sympathy 
and  the  broadest  vision  in  all  social  matters,  besides  possessing  a  superla- 
tive ability  in  the  discussion  of  these  matters,  one  for  whom  we  have  great 
regard  and  whom  we  are  always  glad  to  hear,  Dr.  Todd. 

THE  NEED  FOR  TRAINED  SERVICE  IN  CHILD 
WELFARE  WORK 

Arthur  J.  Todd,  Ph.  D.,  University  of  Minnesota. 

Friends  and  Fellow  Social  Workers:  I  did  not  realize,  for  the  moment, 
until  I  looked  at  the  program,  that  the  golden  words  of  your  chairman  re- 
ferred to  me,  but  you  may  be  sure  that  they  are  appreciated. 

I  value  being  allowed  to  come  over  and  join  with  you  in  this  conference. 
I  am  more  than  gratified  to  see  the  splendid  attendance  here,  because  it 
makes  us  feel  that,  after  all,  this  program,  which  the  Child  Welfare  Com- 
mission and  the  Board  of  Control  and  other  citizens  of  the  state  of  Minne- 
sota have  thought  out  at  such  great  pains,  is  going  to  be  worth  while. 

The  main  point  to  which  I  wish  to  address  myself  in  this  discussion  is 
that  our  admirable  law  for  furthering  child  welfare  throughout  the  state  of 
Minnesota  through  creating  county  boards  of  child  welfare  will  remain  but 
a  splendid  vision  and  a  sheet  of  printed  paper  unless  the  stroke  is  carried 
through  by  the  development  of  a  trained  service  for  this  work.  Without  in 
the  least  disparaging  the  work  of  the  amateur  in  the  past,  I  think  it  is  per- 
fectly safe  to  say  that  the  day  of  the  benevolent,  untrained  amateur  is  over. 
The  recent  war  showed  on  a  huge  scale  the  value  of  scientific,  trained  serv- 
ice in  every  field,  whether  of  military  or  naval  operations,  the  manufacture 
of  munitions,  health,  or  the  various  forms  of  philanthropic  backing  up  of  war 
operations.  You  will  notice  that  there  was  no  recruiting  of  military  offi- 
cers amongst  prominent  politicians  for  increasing  the  staff  of  the  military 
offices.  Special  training  camps  were  established  for  that  purpose  in  various 
parts  of  the  country.  It  was  fully  recognized  that  the  school  teacher,  or 
the  business  man,  or  the  minister,  or  the  college  student,  no  matter  how 
successful  in  his  particular  field,  was  not  competent  as  a  military  leader 
under  modern  conditions  without  specific  and  arduous  training.  Likewise,  in 
the  work  of  rehabilitation  and  reconstruction  the  same  insistence  upon 
skilled  and  trained  service  is  constantly  reiterated. 

The  amateur  doctor  or  surgeon  is  a  rarity  in  these  times.  The  old- 
fashioned  "leech,"  or  barber-surgeon,  is  almost  as  extinct  as  the  dodo.  This 
fact,  among  others,  accounts  for  the  gratifying  decrease  of  the  mortality 
rate  and  also  the  increase  in  longevity  within  the  last  fifty  years.  The  old- 
fashioned  "practical"  nurse  is  also  passing,  and  in  her  place  we  have  the 

60 


highly  trained,  skilled  hospital  nurse  or  visiting  nurse,  and  most  recently 
the  public  health  nurse,  trained  not  only  for  technical  service  but  also  as  a 
teacher  of  sound  health. 

Since  the  whole  tendency  is  to  supply  specialized,  professional  skill  in 
place  of  the  older,  more-or-less  frontier  and  unscientific  methods  in  health 
and  other  forms  of  good  works,  it  is  absolutely  imperative  that  social  work, 
if  it  is  to  be  ranked  with  the  other  professions,  and  if  it  is  not  to  do  more 
harm  than  good,  shall  be  conceived  in  the  same  professional,  scientific 
spirit.  The  demand  for  skilled  service  in  social  work  is  even  more  impera- 
tive than  in  other  fields  of  human-welfare  effort  because  it  is  so  much  more 
difficult  and  dangerous  a  job.  The  life  of  a  human  community  is  almost  in- 
finitely more  complex  than  the  inner  organic  arrangements  of  an  individual 
human  being.  The  ramifications  of  an  individual  case  of  social  distress  are 
so  far-reaching  and  so  delicate  that  only  the  skilled  person  can  hope  to  com* 
pass  the  problem  and  reach  a  satisfactory  diagnosis  and  treatment  of  the 
case. 

Perhaps  the  field  of  child  welfare  is  the  most  delicate  of  all  the  fields 
of  social  work,  and  it  is  just  in  this  field  that  the  benevolent  amateur  is 
such  a  dangerous  risk.  The  centuries  teem  with  the  records  of  well-meant 
experiments  tried  upon  helpless  children,  from  the  days  of  the  conglomerate 
almshouse  and  Napoleon's  "tour,"  to  the  huge  congregate  orphan  asylum, 
placing-out  and  vocational  guidance.  Children  have  been  slaughtered  by 
the  thousands  through  improper  care  in  the  institutions.  They  have  been 
exploited  through  being  placed  in  improper  foster  homes.  They  have  been 
steered  wrongly  into  unfit  vocations.  They  have  been  victimized  by  the 
prejudices,  preconceived  notions,  economic  theories  and  even  religious  en- 
thusiasms of  their  would-be  benefactors. 

Child-placing,  for  example,  should  never  be  undertaken  by  anybody 
without  a  sound  basis  of  common  sense  plus  training,  because  it  involves  a 
much  more  delicate  process  of  adjustment  than  the  worst  bone  fracture  a 
surgeon  was  ever  compelled  to  set.  Somewhat  the  same  thing  might  be  said 
about  mothers'  pensions.  Wherever  mothers'  pensions  have  been  a  real 
success,  they  have  been  administered  by  people  whose  judgment  had  been 
cultivated  through  training  and  who  used  that  judgment  instead  of  senti- 
mentality in  administering  the  law.  Again,  the  treatment  of  the  juvenile 
delinquent,  whether  boy  or  girl,  is  a  field  which  requires  real,  professional 
skill. 

The  reason  for  this  need  of  a  rather  professional  technique  in  such 
cases  ought  to  be  sufficiently  evident.  The  crises  revealed  by  the  need  for 
placing  children  for  adoption,  or  in  boarding  homes,  or  for  making  allow- 
ances to  needy  mothers,  or  for  caring  for  juvenile  delinquents,  are  always 
the  result  of  the  breakdown  of  some  normal  social  relationship  or  institu- 
tion, whether  the  family,  or  the  school,  or  the  health  agency,  or  what  not. 
The  welfare  worker  has,  therefore,  not  only  to  provide  a  better  condition 
for  the  individual,  but  to  overcome  the  handicap  of  perhaps  a  long  chain 
of  adverse  circumstances  to  which  the  child  has  been  subjected.  If  the 
child  has  become  lawless  through  lack  of  parental  control,  it  becomes  neces- 
sary for  the  welfare  worker  not  only  to  try  to  prevent  his  future  relapse 
into  law-breaking,  but  to  teach  him  the  positive  value  of  law,  order  and 

61 


obedience,  incidentally  overcoming  a  long-engendered  habit  of  disobedience 
and  disregard  for  the  law. 

But  I  need  not  labor  the  point.  My  main  purpose  is  to  indicate  the  re- 
sources within  this  state  for  supplying  this  professional  training  which  I 
feel  is  so  necessary  to  our  child  welfare  workers. 

You  will  find  in  the  University  of  Minnesota  a  special  training  course  for 
social  workers  which  is  open  not  only  to  the  regular  students  of  the  uni- 
versity, but  also  to  properly  interested  and  qualified  citizens  of  the  state. 
This  training  course  includes  training  in  the  treatment  of  dependents  and 
defective,  child  welfare,  methods  of  dealing  with  delinquents,  recreation  and 
community  organization,  juvenile  courts  and  probation,  and  a  special  course 
on  methods  of  social  work  in  small  towns  and  country.  This  course  has 
been  in  operation  now  for  two  years,  running  from  October  to  June. 

In  addition  to  this  regular  training  course,  the  university  offers,  under 
the  caption  of  the  Social  Service  Plattsburg,  special  courses  during  the 
summer  school.  This  year  the  Plattsburg  includes  a  course  on  the  treatment 
of  dependents  and  defectives,  running  from  June  23rd  to  August  1st;  also 
special  institute  on  child  welfare,  conducted  for  three  weeks,  from  June  23rd 
to  July  12th,  by  Dr.  Hastings  H.  Hart,  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  one  of 
the  foremost  students  of  child  welfare  in  the  whole  United  States,  and  by 
Dr.  John  Sundwall,  director  of  the  University  Health  Service.  This  insti- 
tute will  cover,  the  matter  of  proper  institutional  care,  child-placing,  and  in- 
fant welfare.  Experts  from  the  Infant  Welfare  Society  and  the  Department 
of  Pediatrics  at  the  university  will  co-operate  in  this  institute.  This  insti- 
tute has  been  conceived  and  its  details  worked  out  with  your  interests  and 
needs  particularly  in  view.  Knowing  so  well  the  character  and  professional 
achievements  of  the  men  responsible  for  it,  I  cannot  recommend  too  strongly 
your  taking  advantage  of  the  opportunity. 

In  addition,  there  will  be  a  three-weeks'  institute  from  July  13th  to 
August  1st  on  methods  of  case  work  with  needy  families,  including,  of  course, 
the  children.  This  will  be  conducted  by  Miss  Amelia  Sears,  associate  super- 
intendent of  the  United  Charities  of  Chicago,  one  of  America's  leading  ex- 
perts in  this  field. 

Another  institute,  of  special  interest  to  Minnesota  Boards  of  Child  Wel- 
fare members,  will  be  given  by  Mr.  John  Collier,  of  New  York,  director  of 
the  Training  School  for  Community  Workers.  This  institute  will  run  from 
July  14th  to  August  2nd,  and  will  cover  methods  of  community  organiza- 
ion,  recreation,  and  some  reference  to  the  Americanization  problem. 

The  summer  work  will  also  include  a  course  on  rural  sociology,  with 
special  emphasis  upon  social  work  in  rural  communities  and  small  towns. 
This  course  will  occupy  the  full  six  weeks  from  June  23rd  to  August  1st. 

There  will  likewise  be  opportunity  for  field  work  in  medical  social 
service,  with  reference  particularly  to  the  patients  from  the  university  dis- 
pensary and  also  the  breast-feeding  bureau. 

Finally,  I  should  like  to  call  your  attention  to  certain  courses  given  in 
our  school  of  education  which  link  up  with  those  given  by  the  department 
of  sociology.  Special  mention  should  be  made  of  the  course  on  child  develop- 
ment, which  runs  from  June  23rd  to  August  1st. 

62 


Because  of  the  supreme  need  of  the  highest  possible  skill,  not  only  to 
serve  properly  the  interests  of  the  children  for  whose  benefit  these  county 
boards  have  been  created,  but  also  to  demonstrate  to  the  whole  country 
that  Minnesota  is  working  in  the  right  direction  by  creating  these  boards, 
it  should  be  the  pleasure,  as  well  as  the  duty,  of  members  of  these  boards 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities  for  training,  and  since  these  oppor- 
tunities are  to  be  had  for  the  asking,  is  not  this  the  opportunity  of  oppor- 
tunities for  you  and  for  me  and  for  the  whole  state  to  demonstrate  that,  as 
citizens  and  as  representatives  of  the  various  functions  of  the  state  govern- 
ment, we  are  a  unit  working  incessantly  and  intelligently  for  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  whole  state  by  acquitting  ourselves  in  the  finest  possible  man- 
ner of  the  responsibilities  committed  to  us? 

Mr.  Vasaly:  Dr.  Todd  has  certainly  outlined  for  us  and  described  an 
ideal  which  it  will  be  an  inspiration  to  follow. 

The  following  address  is  one  which  co-ordinates  with  it,  one  which  I 
think  will  be  most  interesting.  Mr.  Steger  has  knowledge,  has  sympathy, 
and  a  wide  experience.  He  will  speak  to  us  on  "The  Spirit  and  Method  of 
Social  Investigation,"  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  all  we  expect  to  do.  Mr. 
Steger: 


63 


THE  SPIRIT  AND  METHOD  OF  SOCIAL 
INVESTIGATION 

E.  C.  Steger,   General   Secretary,   United   Charities,  St.   Paul. 

The  fact  of  "investigation"  as  a  fundamental  part  of  social  work  is  the 
cause  of  much  criticism  on  the  part  of  the  uninformed,  because  the  term 
"investigation"  is  suggestive  of  the  physical  vigor  of  the  detective  rather 
than  the  sympathetic  searching  of  the  social  physician.  "Study"  more  ac- 
curately describes  the  social  worker's  approach  to  the  social  problem.  How- 
ever, "investigation"  is  the  term  used,  whether  we  like  it  or  not,  and  it  is 
for  us  to  rightly  understand  and  intelligently  interpret  the  function  so 
named. 

When  the  state  of  Minnesota  created  the  department  of  the  Board  of 
Control,  known  as  the  Child  Welfare  Bureau,  and  placed  upon  this  bureau 
the  distinctive  responsibility  of  looking  to  the  welfare  of  all  the  children 
within  her  boundaries,  she  took  a  long  step  forward  in  practically  recogniz- 
ing one  of  the  state's  chief  responsibilities.  For  it  is  the  state's  obligation 
to  insure  to  every  individual  child  a  full  opportunity  for  as  complete  a  life 
as  its  natural  limitations  will  permit.  This  responsibility  extends  to  all 
classes  of  children.  It  looks  out  for  those  unfortunate  ones  who  are  nurtured 
into  full  maturity  within  the  natural  family  circle,  as  well  as  for  the  de- 
pendent orphan  and  the  abandoned  child  of  illicit  love.  It  takes  in  the 
neglected  offspring  of  the  irresponsible  parent  that  must  be  reached  out  for 
and  by  force  placed  into  such  surroundings  as  will  permit  of  proper  devel- 
opment, and  holds  a  protecting  hand  over  those  most  miserable  of  unfor- 
tunates, the  feeble-minded,  who  also  are  entitled  to  just  as  complete  a  life 
as  their  natural  limitations  will  permit. 

The  act  creating  the  Child  Welfare  Bureau  very  wisely  provides  for  the 
appointment  of  county  child  welfare  boards,  thus  placing  at  the  service  of 
the  bureau  agents  who,  because  of  their  familiarity  with  local  conditions,  or 
at  least  because  of  the  ease  with  which  they  can  make  themselves  familiar 
with  such  conditions,  make  it  possible  effectively  to  carry  out  the  purpose 
of  the  act  in  caring  for  child  welfare.  Or  shall  I  rather  say  that  by  bring- 
ing about  the  appointment  in  any  particular  county  of  a  county  child  wel- 
fare board,  the  state  has  emphatically  called  that  particular  community's 
attention  to  its  obligation,  and  now  places  at  the  service  of  this  county 
child  welfare  board  the  children's  bureau,  for  whatever  assistance  it  may 
be  equipped  to  render?  The  latter  seems  to  me  to  express  just  a  bit  more 
clearly  the  degree  of  responsibility  resting  on  the  county  child  welfare 
board.  The  county  board,  aft.er  all,  is  the  agency  which  comes  into  direct 
contact  with  the  child  and  the  family  in  question.  Even  when  the  problem 
is  in  the  first  instance  reported  to  the  children's  bureau  at  the  state  capitol, 
it  is  referred  in  such  instances,  where  a  county  board  exists,  to  that  board. 

The  situation  as  it  exists  in  Minnesota,  then,  is  this:  The  county  child, 
welfare  board  represents  for  its  territory,  as  far  as  children's  problems  are 
concerned,  the  entire  state,  and  must  discharge  the  state's  acknowledged 
obligation  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  the  children. 

64 


It  is  of  course  entirely  vain  in  any  matter  to  try  to  find  a  solution  with- 
out having  a  thorough,  clear  knowledge  of  the  problem  to  be  solved.  It  is 
nothing  short  of  criminal  to  try  to  deal  with  the  vital  problems  concerning 
human  life  and  human  welfare  without  first  gathering  in  all  relevant  facts. 
The  knowledge  necessary  intelligently  to  deal  with  a  family  cannot  be  gained 
without  careful,  comprehensive  study  of  the  individual  family  concerned. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  discussion,  it  is  immaterial  whether  we  speak 
of  a  child  problem  or  of  a  family  problem.  Every  child  problem  is  in  the 
last  analysis  a  family  problem,  and  every  family  problem  finally  resolves  it- 
self into  a  child  problem.  Whatever  is  done  for  any  particular  family  is 
done  with  a  view  to  making  that  family  a  fit  environment  for  the  rearing 
of  children. 

Whether  the  social  "investigation,"  which  is  always  the  beginning  of 
effective  family  social  work,  is  productive  of  the  desired  results  or  not,  de- 
pends upon  the  spirit  in  which  the  investigation  is  made.  The  social 
worker  must  approach  her  task  having  clearly  and  definitely  in  mind  the 
purpose  to  be  carried  out.  To  illustrate: 

Visitors  new  to  their  task,  after  having  started  on  the  first  stages  of 
the  work,  very  often  come  to  us  and  say:  "I  have  tried  to  get  every  bit  of 
information  to  fill  in  the  record  card.  I  have  tried  to  get  whatever  I  could, 
from  relatives  and  others,  to  fill  up  the  history  and  make  it  complete.  But, 
somehow,  I  don't  seem  to  get  much.  It  always  seems  to  me  as  though  they 
don't  like  to  answer  my  questions.  Is  it  really  necessary  to  get  all  this  in- 
formation? Must  I  go  here,  there,  and  to  the  other  place?" 

Almost  invariably  information  gathered  by  those  who  make  this  com- 
plaint lacks  life,  carries  no  suggestion  leading  to  a  clarification  of  the  prob- 
lem hidden  somewhere.  The  family  is  in  trouble.  So  much  we  know.  Our 
investigation,  to  be  worth  while,  must  lead  to  the  full  understanding  of 
what  is  causing  the  trouble.  Nothing  real  is  gained  by  a  merely  perfunc- 
tory filling  in  of  the  record  card  space.  Nothing  real  is  ever  gained  by 
merely  keeping  a  history  for  the  sake  of  keeping  that  history.  But  when 
once  this  becomes  the  clearly  defined  purpose  in  mind:  "This  child,  this 
family,  is  my  care,  my  responsibility,"  just  as  soon  as  the  charge  assumes 
sufficient  importance  in  the  mind  of  the  visitor,  just  as  soon  the  task  be- 
comes a  real,  live  one.  Then  the  social  worker  will  want  facts.  She  will 
not  need  to  be  driven  to  get  them.  She  will  want  to  know  that  child.  She 
will  want  to  know  that  family.  Her  purpose  will  be  to  know  them  as  you 
would  know  your  own.  Her  conscious  purposefulness  is  clearly  revealed 
in  her  approach  to  the  relatives  or  any  others  who  may  be  sources  of  in- 
formation. The  response  corresponds  to  the  approach,  and  real  results  are 
achieve'd. 

The  social  worker,  who  has  gained  the  first  quality,  who  has  gained  for 
herself  a  real  understanding  of  the  purpose  of  an  investigation,  inevitably 
gains  the  second;  that  is,  when  she  goes  at  her  investigation,  at  her  study, 
in  a  spirit  of  helpfulness,  she  loses  her  embarrassment  and  she  gains  un- 
derstanding. 

(Now,  of  course,  we  are  speaking  of  treatment  which  follows  the  inves- 
tigation. We  are  speaking  of  the  method  by  which  we  gain  the  knowledge 
that  makes  it  possible  for  us  to  lay  out,  to  follow  out,  a  reasonable  plan  of 


action.  The  people,  then,  whom  we  have  in  mind  are  those  who  contribute 
to  the  fund  of  information  needed. 

For  instance,  the  relatives.  We  go  to  these  and  what  do  we  ask?  To 
do  something?  Perhaps.  Not  in  the  first  instance,  however.  We  know 
that,  after  all,  our  relatives  are  closer  to  us,  know  a  great  deal  more  about 
us  than  any  other  circle  of  people.  If  there  is  something  wrong,  whether 
trouble  has  come  by  death  in  the  family  or  by  any  other  circumstances,  we 
can  be  very  sure  that  other  members  of  that  family  have  thought  about  it. 
They  have  thought,  "Why  are  conditions  as  they  are?  How  can  this  thing 
be  remedied?"  They  have  also  taken  the  second  step.  They  have  tried  out 
this  plan  or  that  plan  to  help  matters.  They  know  why  this  plan  or  that 
plan  which  they  have  tried  out  has  failed. 

The  social  worker  must  be  herself  so  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  helpfulness  that  there  is  in  her  mind  room  for  no  other  thought  or  sug- 
gestion than  this,  "I  want  to  know  what  will  be  helpful  in  securing  the  best 
interest  of  the  child  and  family  in  question."  .She  will  then  go  to  the  rela- 
tives intent  on  lining  up  with  them,  on  discovering  the  ground  they  have 
already  covered,  on  seeking  with  them  and  others  the  path  of  helpfulness  for 
her  charge.  And  in  just  the  measure  in  which  the  social  worker  herself 
possesses  the  spirit  of  true  helpfulness,  in  just  that  measure  will  she  meet 
with  helpful  and  friendly  response.  In  securing  her  information  the  social 
worker  must  have  a  spirit  of  fairness;  she  must  have  a  spirit  of  courage; 
and  the  two  things  are  very,  very  closely  related.  It  is  necessary  to  be  fair 
to  one's  self,  fair  to  the  family,  fair  to  the  whole  circle  of  people  who  must 
be  called  in,  either  for  active  service  or  only  for  giving  helpful  information. 

There  is  danger  of  unfairness,  of  which  we  are  often  unintentionally 
guilty.  To  illustrate: 

Not  so  very  long  ago  a  certain  group  of  people,  thinking  to  do  the  best 
possible  service  for  three  children,  whose  parents  had  died  during  the  in- 
fluenza epidemic,  had  them  placed  under  the  care  of  an  uncle,  who  lives  in 
our  state.  There  was  no  thought  in  the  minds  of  the  people  who  brought 
this  about  other  than  to  guarantee  as  far  as  possible  the  welfare  of  the  chil- 
dren themselves.  The  uncle,  not  being  able  to  take  care  of  them  in  his  own 
home,  placed  them,  also  with  the  best  intention  in  the  world,  with  perfectly 
good  families.  Other  relatives  of  the  children  as  close  as  the  uncle,  de- 
cidedly closer  than  the  people  with  whom  they  were  placed,  but  living  at  a 
distance,  had  not  been  consulted,  had  not  even  been  informed  of  what  was 
happening  to  these  children.  When  they  found  it  out,  they  wanted  to  give 
the  children  homes,  and  they  had  perfectly  good  homes  to  offer.  Now,  ties 
of  blood  relationship,  which  in  all  fairness  to  those  relatives,  in  all  fairness 
to  those  children,  should  have  been  considered,  were  not  considered.  The 
result  was  that  the  children  themselves  were  made  a  contention  in  the 
courts.  All  might  have  been  avoided  if  before  any  action  was  taken  for 
the  care  of  these  children  the  relatives  had  been  consulted  and  allowed  to 
put  in  their  plan,  their  claim,  for  they  actually  had  a  claim. 

It  takes  a  lot  of  courage  at  times  not  to  take  the  line  of  least  resistance, 
not  to  stop  short  and  say,  "Oh,  I  think  I  have  sufficient  information."  When 
many  of  us  object  to  going  to  all  sources  for  information,  is  it  not  just  be- 
cause we  lack  courage  to  carry  through  what  for  us  is  a  disagreeable  task, 


especially  if  it  means  seeing  somebody  who  may,  as  we  suspect,  not  be  in- 
clined to  receive  us  with  open  arms?  But  if  we  possess  conscience,  how 
can  we  lack  the  courage  to  go  the  full  way? 

As  the  state  of  Minnesota  has  acknowledged  her  responsibility,  not  only 
in  so  many  words  but  in  a  practical  way,  those  of  you  who  have  consented 
to  serve  in  carrying  out  the  ideal  for  which  Minnesota's  child  welfare  laws 
stand,  have  accepted  as  your  own  personal  responsibility  the  state's  respon- 
sibility, must  see  to  it  that  in  so  far  as  those  families  are  concerned,  those 
children  who  come  under  your  special  care,  the  work  that  is  done  for  them 
is  done  in  the  only  spirit  in  which  it  can  actually  be  carried  out:  purposeful, 
helpful,  with  fairness  and  courage. 

I  thank  you. 

Mr.  Vasaly:  Mr.  Bruno,  director  of  Civilian  Relief,  of  the  Red  Cross  of 
this  state,  a  man  of  very  wide  knowledge,  experience,  and  sympathy,  will 
now  speak  to  us  on  "The  Red  Cross  and  Child  Welfare." 

(Mr.  Bruno  had  much  to  do  with  making  it  possible  for  the  Child  Wel- 
fare Commission  to  do  its  work,  and  we  feel  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  his  work 
in  securing  funds,  and  general  co-operation,  a  debt  we  are  glad  to  acknowl- 
edge. 


67 


THE  RED  CROSS  AND  CHILD  WELFARE 

F.  J.  Bruno,  Director  Civilian  Relief,  Northern  Division,  American  Red  Cross. 

Mr.  Chairman,  Members  and  Child  Welfare  Boards,  and  Guests:  Mr. 
Chairman,  I  am  glad  to  be  here  tonight.  Probably  we  should  have  had  this 
conference  two  years  ago  when  you  were  starting  and  we  were  starting, 
and  we  should  not  have  to  say  some  of  the  things  tonight  that  we  need  to 
say;  perhaps  we  might  have  been  able  to  do  some  of  the  things  in  the  past 
two  years  which  we  did  not  accomplish.  We  cannot  all  be  prophets,  how- 
ever, and  it  is  good  to  get  together  now,  even  if  some  of  the  things  have 
not  been  done  so  well  because  we  did  not  confer  earlier. 

I  want  to  say  another  personal  word,  if  I  may,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  that 
is  one  of  respect  and  regret  regarding  him  to  whose  patience  and  construc- 
'tive  imagination  the  laws  on  which  the  work  of  this  body  is  built  are  largely 
due,  Judge  Waite;  the  man  who  gave  so  freely  of  himself,  and  who  prob- 
ably injured  his  health  permanently  by  reason  of  the  care,  thoroughness,  and 
complete  indifference  to  his  own  welfare,  he  gave  to  this  work.  It  is  a 
sincere  regret  to  us  tonight  that  he  cannot  be  here  to  see  these  interested 
participations  in  discussions  and  addresses  of  the  groups  he  so  clearly  an- 
ticipated. 

Red  Cross  and  Child  Welfare  intersect  at  a  number  of  places.  I  merely 
wish  to  speak  of  two  of  them.  One  is  similarity  of  attack.  The  other  is 
relationship  between  the  two  organizations. 

I  am  not  speaking  now  either  for  the  Red  Cross  or  for  the  child  welfare 
boards  of  our  large  cities.  Their  problems  are  rather  simpler;  or,  at  any 
rate,  we  have  in  the  large  cities  the  agencies  to  correlate  our  efforts,  if 
correlation  is  necessary.  I  am  thinking  now  of  the  small  town  and  the  open 
country. 

For  both  of  us  the  problem  is  the  same.  First,  to  secure  an  acknowl- 
edgement for  our  job  and,  second,  to  secure  sufficient  resources  in  our  com- 
munity to  support  the  projects. 

The  problems  which  you  are  facing,  which  we  are  facing  together,  are 
those  of  the  social  breakdowns;  those  in  which  men,  women  and  children, 
singly  or  together,  have  failed  to  make  successful  contact  in  their  relation- 
ship with  the  society  of  which  they  are  a  part.  They  become  sick.  They 
are  neglected.  They  are  abused.  They  are  poor.  They  are  insane.  They 
become  criminal.  In  some  way  or  other,  instead  of  reacting  helpfully  to- 
ward the  society  of  which  they  are  a  part,  they  react  harmfully  either  to 
society  or  to  themselves. 

These  problems  in  the  larger  cities  we  come  earlier  to  recognize  be- 
cause of  their  effect  upon  the  city  organism,  which  is  much  more  sensitive 
than  country  or  small  town  organisms  are.  Poverty,  insanity,  criminality, 
cannot  remain  uncared  for  in  our  larger  cities,  but  in  our  smaller  popula- 
tion units  and  open  country  they  may  continue  without  much  danger  to  their 
neighborhoods.  These  neighborhoods,  like  a  sensitive  organism,  adjust 
themselves  to  the  abnormal  condition  by  throwing  out  protective  tissue  of 
callousness,  hardness,  and  indifference,  largely  because  of  familiarity.  The 

68 


inebriate  in  the  small  town  is  the  town  drunkard;  the  idiot  in  the  small 
town  is  the  town  fool;  and  to  them  the  town  pays  very  little  attention  un- 
less it  be  to  tease  or  to  annoy  them,  or  to  use  them  as  a  horrible  example 
for  the  growing  child. 

The  town,  therefore,  has  not  become  accustomed  to  looking  after  these 
departures  from  the  useful,  normal  side  of  citizenship,  as  an  opportunity 
for  service,  or  as  challenging  its  effort  to  correct  them.  It  accepts  these 
conditions  as  inevitable,  as  part  of  the  divine  order  of  things.  Some  people 
must  be  poor.  Some  people  must  be  foolish.  Some  people  must  be  crim- 
inal. And  there  it  is  left. 

Your  job  as  child  workers,  our  job  as  home  service  workers  in  the  Red 
Cross,  is  to  tell  the  country  towns,  to  show  to  our  neighbors,  and  to  our- 
selves as  much  as  to  anyone  else,  that  this  is  not  necessarily  so;  that  all 
of  these  breakdowns,  no  matter  how  chronic,  no  matter  how  long  continued, 
no  matter  how  familiar  they  are  to  us  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  we  have 
always  seen  them,  that  our  fathers  before  us  have  always  seen  them,  that 
our  fathers'  fathers  have  always  seen  them,  are  nevertheless  preventable  and 
curable. 

Now,  to  open  the  eyes  of  any  community  to  these  facts  and  to  the  hope 
that  these  conditions  are  not  essential,  is  the  first  task  that  lays  before 
us;  and  you  know,  and  I  am  thoroughly  conscious  that  I  know,  it  is  not  an 
easy  task. 

One  of  the  things  which  the  various  Red  Cross  chapters  used  to  say  to 
.us  with  a  constancy  which  was  remarkable,  and  which  we  might  almost  em- 
body in  a  motto  and  carry  around  with  us,  is:  "Oh,  yes;  all  you  say  with 
regard  to  what  may  happen  to  the  families  of  soldiers  in  the  large  cities  is- 
true;  but  it  never  happens  here.  We  have  no  unmarried  mothers;  we  have 
nothing  of  all  this  that  you  talk  about."  Whereas,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
is  all  there. 

We  know  from  figures  that  are  not  subject  to  very  radical  revision  that 
practically  all  these  social  wreckages  occur  in  a  percentage  higher  in  our 
small  towns  and  open  country  than  they  do  in  our  cities;  not  because  the 
people  therein  are  weaker,  but  because  they  are  more  neglected. 

In  our  larger  communities  we  have  the  correctional  and  curative  agen- 
cies and  institutions,  which  have  taken  them  out  of  the  community,  which 
have  prevented  the  development  of  these  social  maladjustments  to  a  greater 
degree  than  effected  in  our  smaller  units. 

The  fire  disaster,  which  Mr.  Steger  knows  so  well,  points  out  to  us  an 
instance.  In  the  70,000  people  scattered  through  16,000  families,  in  that 
group  of  isolated  families,  who  dug  out  with  their  very  finger  nails  a  scanty 
livelihood  in  a  neglected,  almost  cruelly  neglected,  portion  of  our  own  state, 
in  those  vigorous,  self-respecting,  ambitious  families,  we  know  that  there 
are  more  problems  of  child  neglect,  more  problems  of  social  maladjust- 
ment than  you  get  in  an  equal  number  of  16,000  families,  or  as  many  fami- 
lies as  you  need  to  give  us  the  70,000  people  that  are  included  in  that  four 
or  five  miles  of  fire  territory,  in  any  large  city  of  the  country. 

Unless  we  have  persuaded  our  communities  that  the  job  is  before  us, 
there  is  no  need  for  the  child  welfare  board.  The  creation  of  the  child 
welfare  board  gives  an  opportunity  to  be  a  missionary  to  some  people,  a  mis- 


sionary  to  some  community,  preaching  a  gospel  of  hope,  a  gospel  of  prom- 
ise, showing  them  that  these  situations,  which  in  the  first  place  they  do 
not  recognize  because  they  are  so  familiar  with  them,  are  there;  and,  in  the 
second  place,  that  they  are  not  inevitable,  but,  like  practically  all  phenomena, 
are  subject  to  the  action  of  cause  and  effect;  and  that  if  we  can  influence  the 
cause,  we  may  check  the  result. 

The  second  task  before  both  of  us  in  the  question  of  the  organization 
of  the  community  to  handle  this  problem.  That  is  a  question  on  which  I 
do  not  wish  to  spend  so  much  time.  Dr.  Todd  and  Mr.  Steger  discussed  it. 

How  shall  the  child  welfare  board  correlate  the  resources  of  the  com- 
munity? How  shall  the  home  service  section  correlate  its  resources?  Those 
are  technical  questions.  You  will  spend  most  of  your  time  in  answering 
them. 

But  I  believe  primarily — and  in  this  I  fear  it  must  for  some  time  rest 
as  a  matter  of  belief  rather  than  as  a  positive  assertion — that  the  analogy 
of  our  larger  cities  cannot  be  followed  in  the  organization  of  our  smaller 
communities,  and  certainly  not  in  the  open  country.  If  I  may  be  allowed  to 
speak  categorically  on  the  subject,  on  which  there  is  very  little  experience, 
I  think  the  simpler  the  organization  can  possibly  be,  the  better  will  prob- 
ably be  the  result  in  social  work  in  our  communities. 

I  am  somewhat  distressed  by  this  "after  the  war"  enthusiasm  for  con- 
tinuing war  organizations  and  extending  their  activities  to  a  lot  of  unheard 
of  places  where  they  never  went  before.  I  know  I  am  daubed  with  the  same 
stick  because  the  Red  Cross  is  doing  it;  but  somehow  or  other  we  must  get 
together;  and  you  in  the  smaller  towns  and  country  must  insist  that  we  get 
together.  It  is  nonsense  for  us  to  attempt,  it  is  nonsense  for  you  to  allow 
us  to  attempt,  to  organize  each  county  of  this  state  with  the  fifty-seven 
varieties  of  social  agencies  that  there  are  in  our  larger  communities.  Some- 
how or  other  you  must  organize  in  your  community  a  group  large  enough, 
honest  enough  in  its  sympathy,  sincere  enough  in  its  motive,  to  be  able  to 
take  advantage  of  the  national  organization  behind  those  fifty-seven  vari- 
eties; then  apply  them  in  the  community  through  a  very  much  simplified 
organization. 

I  do  not  know  whether  that  is  the  Red  Cross  or  the  child  welfare  board, 
or  something  'between  the  two,  or  neither  of  the  two,  but  I  do  want  to 
register  my  own  faith  and  my  own  conviction  that  that  is  the  way  out  for 
most  of  the  centers  of  social  work  in  the  larger  part  of  the  United  States. 
I  do  not  want  to  be  misunderstood  as  saying  that  you  do  not  have  in  your 
smaller  population  units  quite  as  complicated  problems  as  we  have  in  the 
larger  population  units.  That  is  not  the  question.  Sometimes,  when  I  have 
been  at  Red  Cross  conferences  and  have  listened  to  the  tangled,  knotty 
situations  which  they  have  brought  up.  and  realized  that  in  the  presence 
of  neighbors  they  must  act  with  so  much  greater  caution  than  we  ever  have 
to  in  the  city,  I  wonder  whether  your  problems  are  not  after  all  harder  to 
deal  with  and  more  complicated  than  they  are  in  the  larger  population  units. 
It  is  not  that  you  have  not  the  work;  it  is  merely  that  you  have  not  enough 
of  any  one  kind  of  work  to  specialize  very  greatly  along  that  line. 

Therefore  the  one  or  two  or  three  social  agencies  of  each  county,  and 
particularly  the  persons  of  its  executive,  ought  to  know  the  method,  the  ideal, 

70 


and  the  possibilities  of  these  different  specialists;  and  so  what  Dr.  Todd 
said  about  the  necessity  for  the  trained  worker  in  general  is  emphasized  and 
heightened  many  times  when  you  come  to  the  community  where  one  man 
or  one  woman  must  know  all  of  these  things  which  in  our  specialized  groups 
we  distribute  among  eight  or  ten  or  more  people. 

If  I  might,  purely  independent  of  either  the  Red  Cross  or  the  child  wel- 
fare board,  indicate  what  my  own  belief  in  the  ideal  organization  in  the 
county  for  social  service  is,  it  probably  would  be  something  along  this  line: 

There  ought  to  be  in  the  county  a  public  welfare  board  growing  out, 
perhaps,  of  your  child  welfare  board,  but  it  should  be  larger  than  that.  It 
should  include  all  there  is  of  social  service;  and  on  that  public  welfare 
board  of  course  you  would  have  your  representative  officials  and  employ 
the  best  person  that  could  possibly  be  employed  under  the  conditions  that 
pertain  in  the  particular  county.  Parallel  with  that  public  welfare  board 
there  should  be  a  private  agency,  county  wide,  expanding,  experimenting, 
trying  out  the  new  things,  acting  as  a  communication  channel  between  the 
national  organizations  and  the  local  citizens,  in  order  to  keep  alive,  in  order 
to  renew,  in  order  to  stimulate  continually  the  possibilities  of  increased  and 
more  courageous  social  service. 

I  suppose  one  alone,  either  the  private  alone  or  the  public  alone,  would 
not  work,  but  I  do  believe  that  a  combination  would  be  economical  in  per- 
sonnel, which  is  so  important  in  dealing  with  our  smaller  units.  At  the  same 
time  would  give  the  effectiveness  of  an  administrative  and  experimental 
body,  between  which  the  condition  of  progress  seems  to  be  made. 

The  second  part  of  the  subject  that  I  wanted  to  take  up,  the  relation- 
ship between  the  Child  WJelfare  Board  and  the  Red  Cross  Home  Service.  I 
shall  have  to  deal  with  with  more  particularity.  I  believe  that  in  the  state 
of  Minnesota  you  have  about  fifty  county  child  welfare  boards.  In  every 
one  of  those  counties  there  is  a  home  service  section.  The  child  welfare 
boards  are  the  public  agencies;  the  home  service  sections  are  only  semi- 
public.  The  county  child  welfare  board  consists  of  a  definite  number  of 
people;  the  home  service  section  is  the  committee  appointed  out  of  a 
membership  which  includes  a  very  large  percentage  of  the  county. 

Without  analyzing  it,  this  seems  mostly  to  meet  the  conditions  that 
are  laid  down  for  ideal  county  organization.  It  is  not  ideal;  it  is  merely 
an  accidental  similarity. 

Mr.  Steger  said  all  social  service  work  might  be  considered  a  part 
of  all  child  welfare  work,  and  that  all  child  welfare  work  might  be  considered 
a  part  of  all  social  service  work.  There  is  practically  nothing  that  has 
been  done  in  behalf  of  the  people  who  have  made  failures  of  their  lives 
which  is  not  modified  largely  in  the  interests  of  their  children,  so  that 
the  work  of  the  child  welfare  board  must  always  be  of  concern  to  the  home 
service  section,  and  of  course  the  work  of  the  home  service  section  is 
largely  a  matter  of  concern  t'o  the  child  welfare  board. 

There  should  be  an  interlocking  directorate.  In  some  way  the  work 
of  the  home  service  section  should  be  presented  to  the  child  welfare 
board.  There  should  be  formal  if  not  informal  relationship.  That  is  im- 
portant now  in  the  cleaning  up  of  the  war  job.  It  will  be  more  important 
as  the  period  of  reconstruction  reaches  more  acute  conditions,  as  it  is 

71 


rapidly  approaching  them  at  the  present  time,  but  it  will  become  essential 
if  the  home  service  section's  peace  program  is  a  success. 

The  Red  Cross  expects — with  what  success  only  the  future  can  tell — 
to  transform  the  home  service  section  from  a  war  agency  to  a  peace  agency, 
in  such  communities  as  have  not  had  some  form  of  family  welfare  work, 
with  local  support  and  local  control.  As  that  comes  into  our  counties, 
definite  relationship  with  the  child  welfare  board  will  be  essential,  and  I 
believe  the  fundamental  thing  is  that  there  be  an  interchange  of  manage- 
ment between  the  two  agencies. 

Cooperation  between  two  social  agencies  whose  work  more  or  less 
overlaps  is  one  of  the  problems  of  social  work.  Sometimes  I  think  social 
work  is  wholly  a  question  of  cooperation.  Cooperation  is  a  word  with 
which  we  juggle  easily;  it  slips  lightly  from  our  lips;  and,  what  is  more, 
when  we  are  on  one  side  of  the  fence  it  seems  very  simple.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  all  of  civilization,  everything  we  are  learning  about  in  the  ques- 
tion of  living  together,  is  a  problem  of  cooperation  between  individuals; 
and  the  problem  we  face  in  social  service  cooperation  is  merely  a  special- 
ized angle  of  this  universal  problem  of  men  learning  to  live  with  men, 
first  in  peace,  then  effectively. 

You  know  the  ordinary  diagram  of  cooperation  is  to  put  a  point  and 
say:  "That  is  me,"  or,  "That  is  I,"  depending  upon  the  education  which 
we  have.  Then  we  say:  "The  church  is  there;  the  school  is  there;  the 
public  officials  are  there;  this  man  is  there;  there  are  all  around  me  and  I 
send  out  shoots  to  these  people.  That  is  cooperation." 

Now,  that  is  not  cooperation.  If  either  the  child  welfare  board  or  the 
home  service  section  takes  the  position  that  it  is  at  the  center  of  things 
and  that  any  other  people  who  want  to  cooperate — the  church,  the  school, 
the  public  officials,  or  anyone  else — can  come  to  us,  we  are  ready  to  co- 
operate, there  never  wil  be  real  co-operation  in  the  country.  The  true 
figure  is  the  figure  of  the  overlapping  circle,  with  centers  scattered  all 
over,  and  with  intersecting  segments;  and  where  these  segments  inter- 
sect there  must  be  cooperation  or  there  will  be  trouble. 

Now,  there  are  certain  parts  of  the  work  of  the  child  welfare  boards 
that  overlap  the  work  of  the  home  service  section,  and  there  are  certain 
parts  of  the  work  of  the  home  service  section  that  overlap  the  work!  of 
the  child  welfare  board.  Child  welfare  work,  in  its  protective  or  its  pre- 
ventive or  in  any  of  its  other  functions,  will  reach  to  families  the  home 
service  section  is  dealing  with,  and  the  same  is  true  on  the  other  side; 
then  the  two  must  work  together.  They  must  recognize  that  they  are 
both  sincere,  that  they  are  both  working  for  the  same  thing,  and  they  both 
have  a  right  to  know  what  the  other  fellow  is  doing  and  to  coordinate 
their  forces  with  it. 

One  of  the  difficulties  in  all  social  service,  in  all  human  effort  for  that 
matter,  is  that  of  the  temptation  to  consider  any  task  as  a  one-man  job. 
Such  an  attitude  is  second  nature  to  many  a  man  or  woman.  He  works 
in  an  organization  until  he  finally  gets  control.  He  works  in  another  and 
then  another  and  then  another,  and  either  through  carelessness  or  because 
that  is  the  way  his  mind  worked,  he  gets  a  number  of  organizations  into 
his  hands  and  he  neglects  to  recognize  that  success  does  not  consist  of 
ability  unaided  to  put  over  something,  but  that  the  highest  measure  of 

72 


success  is  to  win  your  community,  your  entire  group,  to  cooperative,  united 
effort  toward  a  certain  end. 

The  great  success  of  our  war  work,  the  way  in  which  the  Council  of 
National  Defense,  the  Red  Cross,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  Salvation  Army,  and 
Knights  of  Columbus,  and  all  national  organizations,  have  woven  into  one 
great  harmonious  whole  the  work  of  the  people  of  this  country  in  the  last 
two  years  has  been  the  thrilling  evidence  that  it  is  possible  for  p-eople 
to  work  together;  that  it  is  possible  to  fire  them  all  with  enthusiasm  and 
put  into  their  hearts  and  their  lives  a  desire  not  to  go  it  alone,  but  to  sink 
their  individuality  toward  one  great  end. 

I  believe  if  we  can  do  that,  we  can  promote  a  program  in  the  counties 
throughout  the  state  which  shall  rescue  our  children  from  the  positions  in 
which  they  are  placed;  that  shall  make  mothers'  pensions  mean  some- 
thing in  those  counties  and  give  those  children  a  chance  to  grow  up  and 
have  an  education;  which  shall  give  to  the  unmarried  mother  an  oppor- 
tunity to  start  over  again  and  to  her  child  the  opportunity  for  a  decent 
chance  in  life;  that  will  make  for  Minnesota  a  history  of  preventive  effort 
on  the  part  of  its  citizens  which  will  mark  this  state  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ers of  the  country  in  social  advance. 

We  are  facing  really  a  serious  situation.  Those  of  you  who  are  fort- 
unate enough  to  have  read  "The  Survey"  of  last  week  must  have  been 
struck  by  a  statement  in  the  supplement  to  the  effect  that  the. workers  of 
England  had  been  promised  all  sorts  of  wonderful  things  after  the  war; 
that  never  again  would  the  condition  of  the  unprivileged,  the  ordinary  man, 
sink  as  lev/  as  it  had  gotten  before  the  war;  that  after  the  war  a  democ- 
racy would  have  asserted  its  right  to  live;  everything  would  be  brighter, 
more  cheerful;  life  would  mean  more  to  the  many  who  had  done  so  much 
to  preserve  the  nation. 

Now  we  have  got  to  make  that  true;  we  have  got  to  realize  it.  And 
the  big  task  of  democratizing  industry,  or  realizing  in  our  great  centers 
of  population  the  possibility  of  home  life,  of  education,  or  artistic  and  re- 
creational opportunity,  for  the  great  group  of  our  people,  is  the  problem 
confronting  the  country.  The  same  problem  to  a  certain  extent  rests 
with  each  one  of  us  in  our  own  community;  the  group  which  we  call  the 
unprivileged,  the  group  to  which  our  interests  are  mainly  directed. 

I  believe  that  through  the  work  which  you  are  doing  in  your  child 
welfare  boards,  and  which  we  are  trying  to  do  in  our  home  service  sec- 
tion one  by  one  the  wrecks  of  society  may  be  picked  up  and  that  one 
by  one  the  causes  which  are  crowding  them  down  may  be  isolated  and 
removed;  and  that  means  of  effective  social  service  can  be  created  among 
us  which,  although  essentially  imperfect,  will  organize  our  communities 
for  a  clearer  realization  of  democracy  for  the  weaker  and  less  fortunate. 
Such  a  thing  can  be  created,  and  the  one  great  motive  *nat  will  create 
it  is  the  sincere,  cooperative,  thoroughly  sincere  and  informed  man  and 
woman  who  work  among  those  who  have  been  looked  upon  as  the  inevit- 
able beasts  of  burden,  the  inevitable  penalty  and  the  price  on  which  the 
civilization  of  growth  and  power  is  built. 

Mr.  Vasaly:  We  have  another  speaker  whom  you  will  be  glad  to  hear. 
The  child  welfare  laws  put  a  special  responsibility  and  burden  in  many 
ways  upon  the  juvenile  court  judges  throughout  the  state,  and  we  have  a 

73 


representative  of  the  judges  with  us  tonight,  one  who  has  taken  great 
interest  in  this  legislation  and  helped  to  see  that  it  went  through  the  leg- 
islature. I  am  sure  you  will  be  glad  to  hear  Judge  Hall,  of  Yellow  Medi- 
cine county. 

Judge  Hall:  Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  It  is  a  little  late 
1  will  not  keep  you  very  long;  in  fact,  I  have  no  prepared  speech. 

There  is  a  great  deal  in  this  work  that  fills  our  hearts.  The  other 
day  I  noticed  in  the  May  number  of  "Good  Housekeeping"  an  article  by 
Dr.  Hoyt,  which  said  this:  "If  our  democracy  means  anything,  it  means 
that  every  child  ought  to  have  a  fair  start  in  the  race  of  life."  Now,  in 
my  experience  as  judge  of  the  juvenile  court,  I  have  found  that  the  lack 
of  that  knowledge,  that  appreciation,  in  the  people  is  the  great  handicap. 

We  have  been  through  events  in  the  last  two  years  culminating  in  this 
parade  of  yesterday,  which  deeply  stirred  our  hearts,  and  this  afternoon 
there  sat  beside  me  one  of  the  greatest  men  in  the  work  today,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  State  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  Judge  Lewis,  of 
Todd  county.  That  man  and  his  beloved  wife  gave  three  of  their  most 
precious  sons  to  the  government  when  the  war  broke  out.  Two  of  those 
boys  gave  all  they  had.  One  sleeps  in  the  country  which  they  want  to 
protect;  the  other  gave  everything  but  breath.  We  do  not  know  yet  how 
soon  he  will  be  restored  to  us  or  whether  or  not  he  will  be  restored.  It 
was  patriotism  that  sent  those  men  across  the  ocean  to  die  for  a  demo- 
cratic ideal;  that  caused  that  father  and  mother  and  fathers  and  mothers 
of  boys  of  thousands  of  other  families  to  do  the  same  thing.  And  that  same 
patriotism  today  is  calling  us  to  a  still  higher  realization  of  a  democratic 
ideal  that  is  for  the  future  generation;  that  is  for  the  unborn  children  and 
those  that  we  have  before  us. 

It  is  incumbent  upon  us  to  give  every  child  a  fair  start  in  the  race 
of  life;  to  give  him  life,  health  and  happiness,  that  he  may  live  the  life 
that  he  is  entitled  to  live. 

We  talk  of  memorials;  we  wonder  what  would  be  a  great  memorial 
for  these  boys  that  have  died.  As  I  stood  beside  that  memorial  in  Minne- 
apolis, carved  out  of  plaster  and  sticks,  beautiful  indeed  as  such  memorials 
are,  yet  I  realized  they  are  but  fleeting  and  temporary.  We  should  build 
a  lasting  memorial  for  the  heroes  of  this  greatest  war.  Dr.  Holt  says: 
"Let  it  be  a  memorial  of  the  flesh  and  blood,  a  memorial  based  upon  the 
lives  of  millions  and  millions  of  little  children,  who  shall  know  what  it 
is  to  live  a  freer,  a  happier  and  a  better  life,  because  of  the  lessons  we 
have  learned  from  this  great  war."  When  we  shall  have  learned  how 
precious  is  child  life,  when  we  shall  have  learned  the  lesson  that  not  my 
child  or  yours  only,  but  the  child  of  the  city,  the  rural  community,  the 
county,  the  state,  and  the  nation,  all  belong  to  us,  and  it  is  our  duty  to 
see  that  they  are  cared  for,  we  shall  have  builded  a  fitting  memorial. 

When  I  first  became  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  a  boy  was  brought  in 
to  me  because  he  had  stolen  a  jack-knife  or  two.  The  whole  idea  of  the 
county  attorney  and  others  prosecuting  was:  He  has  done  so  much,  he 
should  get  so  much;  an  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth.  When  I  said 
that  boy  had  had  no  training,  that  he  had  been  brought  into  this  world 
and  turned  loose,  drifting  here  and  there  with  no  intelligent  supervision; 
that  what  he  needed  was  a  friend;  what  he  needed  was  a  little  wholesome 

74 


restraint;  that  that  was  what  the  juvenile  court  was  there  for,  to  put  that 
restraint  upon  him  and  to  give  him  the  benefit  of  that  system  of  training 
which  might  lead  him  to  be  a  good  citizen;  it  was  difficult  for  them  to 
understand  me. 

That  has  been  the  problem  before  these  communities.  We  here  have 
a  realization  of  what  child  welfare  work  is.  We  have  such  men  as  ou** 
beloved  Judge  Waite,  our  honored  Mr.  Vasaly,  and  other  men  in  this  state 
who  have  been  working  for  these  'matters — these  leaders  in  our  state 
institutions.  It  has  always  been  a  pleasure  to  come  in  contact  with  them. 

We  enacted  a  few  laws  called  the  child  welfare  laws.  The  juvenile 
court  is  established  to  deal  with  these  children  as  though  they  were 
human,  not  as  though  they  were  chattels,  and  to  remember  that  the  child 
has  an  immortal  soul. 

Judge  Lindsay  has  told  this  story:  He  said  he  was  trying  a  case  in 
Colorado,  an  insignificant  little  lawsuit  between  a  couple  of  wretched  fellows 
that  ought  to  have  been  kicked  out  of  court,  when  a  policeman  came  in 
and  begged  Judge  Lindsay's  pardon  and  said  that  he  had  one  more  case, 
but  that  it  was  "nothing  but  a  little  boy  and  it  won't  take  but  five  minutes." 
Judge  Lindsay  said:  "A  little  boy,  an  immortal  soul,  only  five  minutes;  and 
two  days  for  a  measly  little  scrap." 

We  must  get  different  ideals  into  our  lives.  We  have  got  to  under- 
stand that  these  problems  are  the  most  tremendous,  far-reaching  problems 
that  stand  before  us  today.  I  believe,  as  we  come  here  to  these  confer- 
ences, and  to  this  conference  today,  that  we  are  engaged  in  the  mightiest 
after-war  work  that  exists,  and  that  there  lie  before  us  the  greatest  re- 
sponsibilities. 

I  want  to  confess  this  to  you,  that  in  my  work  as  probate  judge  I 
have  nothing  that  comes  before  me  that  I  stand  so  much  in  awe  of  as  the 
juvenile  court.  There  is  nothing  in  distributing  property  that  involves  mil- 
lions that  causes  me  the  feeling  of  trepidation  that  does  the  boy  or  girl 
who  is  brought  before  me  who  has  lacked  the  father  and  the  mother  and 
the  home  training  that  they  need.  They  are  the  problems,  and  it  is  no 
five-minute  job. 

The  people  of  our  communities  do  not  know  yet  what  the  juvenile 
court  is,  what  the  child  welfare  boards  are.  It  has  not  sunk  into  their 
consciousness. 

In  my  county  today — our  county  superintendent  has  started  the  work — 
we  are  going  to  have  'every  village  in  the  county  on  the  child  welfare 
program.  We  are  going  around  the  county  to  let  the  people  of  the 
county  know  what  the  child  welfare  board  is,  what  the  State  Board  of 
Control  is,  and  what  our  institutions  are,  and  what  they  will  do;  and  what 
the  juvenile  court  is;  that  it  is  not  a  court  of  punishment,  but  it  is  there 
to  help  with  the  laws,  to  give  the  unfortunate  boys  and  girls  a  different 
view  of  life,  to  put  a  wholesome  restraint  upon  them,  to  help  them;  and 
the  county  nurse,  the  county  executive  agents  and  child  welfare  boards, 
are  all  agencies  that  gather  up  this  human  crop  and  bring  them  to  the 
juvenile  court,  to  sort  them  out,  to  put  them  in  places,  in  institutions,  in 
homes,  whereby  they  will  learn  what  it  is  to  be  good  men  and  good  women. 

I  do  not  want  to  keep  you  any  longer,  although  there  is  much  that 
might  be  said.  But  I  do  want  to  reiterate  that  it  is  the  establishment  of 

75 


this  ideal  that  we  need  to  fight  for,  and  we  do  not  need  to  think  the  work 
was  all  done  when  the  war  was  won;  it  has  just  begun  to  bring  liberty  to 
those  helpless  little  ones  who  are  the  future  citizens,  the  future  governors 
and  legislators  and  rulers  of  our  state  and  country. 

Mrs.  Miller:  I  want  to  say,  as  a  member  of  a  child  welfar^  board,  I 
have  greatly  appreciated  what  the  judge  from  Yellow  Medicine  county 
has  said.  I  believe  when  our  officers  fully  understand  this  work  they  will 
take  more  interest  in  it. 

In  our  county  the  judge  of  the  district  court  is  our  juvenile  court 
judge,  and  during  the  past  year  he  has  been  very  busy  and  out  of  the 
county  a  great  deal  of  the  time  so  he  could  not  instruct  us  in  our  work 
as  we  hope  he  will  later  on. 

I  had  a  case  recently  of  five  boys  who  were  arrested  for  petty  thieving 
and  were  to  be  given  a  trial  according  to  the  old  law.  I  wrote  Mr.  Hodson 
and  explained  it  to  him,  and  he  sent  back  instructions,  and  the  boys  were 
tried  in  juvenile  court,  and  I  was  appointed  their  guardian.  I  placed  them 
in  farm  homes  and  they  are  doing  beautifully.  Some  of  the  officials  said 
I  would  be  sorry  I  had  given  them  another  chance,  but  I  said:  "If  I  save 
one,  I  shall  never  regret  the  fight  I  put  for  the  boys." 

Judge  Hall:     If  you  want  experiences,  I  can  talk  for  a  couple  of  hours. 

The  judges  of  the  probate  court,  when  this  movement  first  started, 
did  not  rouse  very  readily  to  the  proper  understanding  of  the  juvenile 
court,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  a  large  number  of  them  have  hardly  waked 
up  to  it  yet.  These  things  take  time,  as  one  of  our  speakers  has  said  this 
evening.  Look  at  the  time  the  mother  puts  upon  a  single  child.  The 
reason  why  we  need  an  executive  agent  is  because  the  juvenile  court  judge 
has  no  the  time  to  do  it.  One  of  the  most  important  things  we  need 
today  is  agents  to  follow  up  the  work. 

Some  years  ago  I  had  a  boy  in  the  village  of  Hanley  Falls,  where  one 
of  our  child  welfare  workers  lives,  who  used  to  amuse  himself  trying  to 
see  how  near  he  could  sjioot  at  the  ladies'  hats  with  a  shotgun.  He 
was  brought  up  to  me  and  about  half  the  village  came  along.  The  boy 
was  stubborn;  his  father  was  dead,  he  had  been  running  the  town,  so  to 
speak;  and  he  did  not  feel  that  he  was  going  to  be  run  by  me.  But  I  told 
him  about  Red  Wing,  and  proved  to  him  that  he  would  go  down  there  if 
he  did  not  do  as  I  told  him  to.  Then  I  sent  him  back  to  the  village  on 
probation  under  the  charge  of  the  principal  of  the  school.  This  was  on 
Friday  afternoon. 

The  principal  went  out  of  town  the  next  day,  and  the  other  persons 
in  the  town  did  not  get  the  idea  of  what  I  was  driving  at.  They  got  back 
home  and  worked  up  a  great  indignation  meeting,  and  everybody  signed 
a  petition  which  was  sent  to  me  by  mail.  They  then  telephoned  and 
wanted  to  know  when  I  got  my  mail  in  the  morning,  stating  that  when  I  did, 
they  wanted  me  to  call  them  on  the  'phone-. 

The  next  morning  I  got  a  large  envelope,  and  when  I  opened  it  up  I 
found  a  petition  asking  that  I  send  that  boy  to  Red  Wing,  where  he  be- 
longed; stating  that  he  was  a  menace  to  that  town;  that  somebody  would 
be  killed;  and  that  he  had  no  business  there.  It  did  not  take  me  very 
long  to  decide  what  to  do.  I  stepped  to  the  telephone  and  called  up  the 
man  who  had  written  the  letter  and  asked  him  if  the  principal  of  the 

76 


school  had  come  home.  I  said:  "That  man  has  police  power  over  that 
boy;  he  has  control  over  him;  if  the  boy  does  not  attend  school  and  dis- 
obeys, he  has  power  to  bring  him  back  to  this  court,  and  we  will  then 
send  him  to  Red  Wing."  He  said  he  supposed  that  would  answer  the  pur- 
pose. 

I  learned  afterwards  that  the  entire  school  board  went  to  the  school 
Monday  to  see  if  the  boy  obeyed  the  first  injunction  of  coming  to  school 
that  morning.  8:45  came;  no  boy  in  sight:  8:50  came;  no  boy  in  sight: 
8:55  came;  no  boy  in  sight.  The  school  board  seemed  to  think  that  they 
had  the  boy  and  the  judge  of  the  probate  court  where  they  wanted  them. 
At  8:59^  the  boy  appeared,  just  before  the  9  o'clock  bell  struck,  and 
walked  in.  So  the  board  went  home. 

The  boy  attended  school.  He  came  back  to  school  the  next  day.  For 
a  while  I  received  a  daily  report  from  the  principal.  He  said:  "Everybody 
in  the  village  is  dumbfounded.  The  boy  is  actually  helping  his  mother; 
he  is  at  school  every  day;  he  is  on  time  there  is  no  complaint." 

The  upshot  of  the  matter  was  we  never  had  any  further  complaint 
against  the  boy;  although  I  believe  some  fellow  later  sold  him  a  bicycle 
and  he  never  got  the  whole  of  his  money.  He  came  to  me  and  wanted 
me  to  get  it  for  him,  but  I  replied  I  was  not  responsible  for  his  selling 
a  bicycle  to  a  minor.  That  is  the  only  complaint  I  ever  had  of  the  boy. 

It  showed  what  can  be  done  by  the  juvenile  courts.  The  boy  might 
have  turned  out  all  right  if  he  had  been  sent  to  Red  Wing,  but  he  would 
have  felt  that  he  had  not  been  given  the  right  chance  at  home  and  that 
he  had  not  been  given  a  chance  by  the  people  at  Red  Wing.  He  would 
have  had  a  handicap  to  start  with. 

Nine-tenths  of  the  boys  that  have  been  brought  before  me  have  been 
left  at  home  and  have  made  fairly  good  citizens,  but  it  takes  a  lot  of  work. 
It  is  something  that  cannot  be  done  in  a  hurry;  it  is  something  about 
which  we  have  got  to  get  the  right  idea  or  we  are  not  going  to  succeed. 

It  is  not  right  to  send  boys  to  Red  Wing  who  have  lacked  control 
without  first  giving  them  a  chance.  They  are  just  like  your  own  children 
in  the  home.  My  little  girl  is  continually  doing  some  little  thing;  so  is 
your  boy.  We  try  to  get  them  to  understand  that  they  cannot  do  those 
things.  Their  initiative  qualities  are  tremendous. 

I  have  a  little  babe  at  home,  three  years  old,  and  about  three  weeks 
ago  she  said  to  her  mother :  "When  I  get  big  I  am  going  to  get  a  pipe,  and 
smoke  it."  Her  mother  said:  "Why,  papa  does  not  smoke  a  pipe."  My 
little  girl  replied:  "My  paper  doesn't  smoke,  but  man  smokes."  She  had 
seen  men  going  by  the  house  with  a  pipe  in  their  mouths,  and  that  imita- 
tive quality  in  a  little  three-year  old  caused  her  to  make  that  remark. 

It  struck  me  forcibly  how  strong  that  imitative  quality  is!  How  much 
supervision  it  takes!  How  much  wisdom!  We  cannot  wonder  that  so  many 
girls  and  boys  get  into  the  juvenile  courts.  It  has  got  to  be  driven  home 
until  people  realize  just  what  it  means  and  what  there  is  for  them  to  ac- 
complish in  this  most  tremendous  work  we  have  got  in  front  of  us. 


77 


(MORNING   SESSION,   MAY   10.) 

C.  J.  Swendsen,  Member  State  Board  of  Control:  The  first  speaker  Is 
a  man  whom  you  all  know,  I  think.  You  have  no  doubt  come  in  contact 
with  Mr.  Hodson  either  personally  or  by  correspondence.  There  is  no 
man  who  is  better  posted  than  Mr.  Hodson  when  it  comes  to  the  laws  gov- 
erning child  welfare.  He  was  secretary  to  the  commission  which  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor  to  formulate  the  laws,  and  of  course  he  has  anal- 
yzed every  paragraph.  I  know  he  will  give  all  of  us  much  information  per- 
taining to  the  laws  governing  the  department. 

The  Board  of  Control  feels  that  it  made  a  splendid  choice  in  appointing 
Mr.  Hodson  director  of  the  Child  Welfare  Department.  He  is  by  nature 
adapted  for  it.  He  is  an  attorney,  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  bureau; 
therefore  we  expect  results  from  his  work. 

I  have  the  honor  to  introduce  Mr.  Hodson,  who  will  speak,  as  you 
will  note  from  the  program,  on  matters  pertaining  to  the  adoption  of  chil- 
dren, placement  of  children,  illegitimacy,  feeble-mindedness.  Mr.  Hodson. 

CHILD  WELFARE 

William   Hodson,   Director  Children's   Bureau. 

I  want,  with  your  permission,  to  say  just  a  word  about  the  program 
up  to  this  time.  I  think  there  has  been  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  some 
child  welfare  workers  to  think  about  child  welfare  in  terms  of  single 
compartments.  The  person  who  is  interested  in  the  health  phase  of  child 
welfare  understands  by  that  term  matters  of  health,  matters  of  sanitation. 
The  person  who  is  interested  in  child  welfare  from  the  social  point  of  view 
is  inclined  to  think  of  that  phase  in  terms  purely  of  social  work  and  social 
investigation.  And  so  on;  each  phase  of  child  welfare  is  regarded  as  an 
entity  in  itself  and  as  a  complete  entity. 

Now,  one  of  the  things  which  we  must  appreciate  in  child  welfare 
work  is  that  it  is  a  many-sided,  varied  sort  of  work.  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  attending  a  conference  in  Washington  just  a  few  days  ago,  and  the 
thing  which  impressed  me  about  the  conference  was  the  fact  that  child 
welfare  work  is  as  varied  as  the  interests  of  the  child.  Health  is  one 
phase;  education  is  another  phase;  labor  is  a  third  phase;  adoption,  place- 
ment, illegitimacy,  and  the  rest,  are  the  fourth  phase;  and  so  on. 

I  want  to  leave  with  you,  as  members  of  county  child  welfare  boards, 
the  thought  that  you  cannot  afford  to  think  of  your  obligation  and  your 
duty  in  any  single  fashion.  I  want  you  to  think  of  it  in  terms  of  the  entire 
field,  because  your  obligation  is  as  broad  as  the  need.  Now,  the  program 
up  to  this  time  was  shaped  in  the  hope  that  it  might  bring  home  to  you 
the  fact  that  your  problem  is  a  varied  problem  and  not  a  single  problem. 

The  question  is,  after  the  discussion  which  you  have  already  heard, 
Just  what  is  the  function  of  the  county  child  welfare  board? 

Let  me  refer,  first  of  all,  to  the  matter  of  health.  If  in  your  county 
there  is  to  be  a  county  nurse,  it  will  be  the  result  of  public  opinion  in 
the  county,  and  nothing  else.  If  the  people  of  the  county  demand  a  county 

78    ' 


nurse,  you  will  have  one.  If  the  people  of  the  county  are  content  to  let 
things  continue  as  they  have  gone  on  in  the  past,  you  won't  have  a  county 
nurse.  Therefore,  is  it  not  clearly  the  function  of  the  county  child  welfare 
board  to  see  that  public  opinion  is  stirred  up  to  the  point  where  you  can 
get  your  county  nurse,  and  can  impress  upon  your  county  commissioners 
the  necessity  for  doing  that  most  important  thing,  providing  for  the  wel- 
fare and  health  of  the  people  of  your  county?  There  is  your  job. 

The  primary  obligation  is  upon  you  as  official  members  of  the  county 
child  welfare  board  to  first  convince  yourselves,  if  necessary.  Having  so 
done,  convince  the  people  of  your  county.  Remember  this:  Boards  of 
county  commissioners,  county  attorneys,  and  public  officials,  recognize,  one 
supreme,  unwritten  law,  and  that  law  is  the  opinion  of  their  constituency. 
When  you  people  demand  these  things,  you  will  get  them.  Don't  come 
down  here  to  us  and  say:  "We  haven't  got  a  county  nurse.  Our  county 
commissioners  won't  give  it  to  us."  You  can  get  what  you  really  want. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  subject  of  child  labor.  If  in  your  community  chil- 
dren are  being  denied  the  inheritance  of  childhood  and  the  privileges  of 
child  life,  remember  there  is  a  certain  responsibility  resting  upon  you.  When 
you  know  that  children  are  being  discriminated  against  and  are  being 
denied  the  inheritance  of  childhood,  I  say  to  you,  do  not  complain  about 
the  laws,  but  see  to  it  that  you  have  put  the  conditions  as  they  exist 
before  the  proper  authorities,  and  that  public  opinion  in  your  county  sus- 
tains the  position  which  you  are  taking,  and  I  venture  to  say  that  you 
will  find  these  old  laws  will  be  satisfactory,  once  you  have  public  opinion 
behind  you;  once  you  have  public  opinion  to  the  point  where  it  will  not 
tolerate  the  employment  of  children  in  occupations  under  the  age  of  six- 
teen years. 

Now,  may  I  turn  to  the  subject  of  compulsory  education,  about  which 
we  have  heard?  It  struck  me,  from  our  conversations  and  discussions  yes- 
terday, that  there  is  something  very  radically  wrong  with  the  existing 
situation  as  it  affects  compulsory  education.  It  would  seem  to  me  that 
one  of  the  great  needs  of  the  immediate  future  is  a  commission  to  look 
into  the  subject  of  compulsory  education,  provided  the  discussion  yes- 
terday was  a  fair  statement  of  general  conditions. 

"But,"  I  heard  people  say,  "you  can't  get  our  county  attorney  to  act;" 
and,  "It  is  not  possible  to  enforce  these  laws  because  our  public  officials 
won't  do  it."  My  answer  to  you  is  that  the  county  attorney  and  public 
officials  of  your  county  will  do  just  what  you  demand  of  them  and  nothing 
more. 

If  a  committee  of  the  child  welfare  board  will  go  into  the  circum- 
stances of  these  cases,  will  find  out  exactly  what  the  facts  are,  what 
children  are  not  in  school,  and  why  they  are  not  in  school,  why  this  crime 
is  being  perpetrated  against  them  by  denying  them  the  inheritance  and 
privileges  of  childhood,  once  you  have  the  facts  and  once  you  have  the 
county  child  welfare  board  thoroughly  alive  to  the  wrong  being  done  to 
children  who  are  not  in  school,  you  have  made  a  beginning.  Then  the 
duty  of  the  committee  of  the  child  welfare  board  is  to  put  those  facts 
honestly,  fearlessly,  without  thought  of  the  personal  situation  or  the  po- 
litical situation,  before  the  people  of  your  county;  and  I  venture  to  say  thar 
when  the  overwhelming  voice  of  the  community  has  announced  that  every 

79 


child  within  the  compulsory  school  age  must  be  in  school  or  else  must  be 
legally  excused,  your  difficulties  with  the  county  attorney  will  very  rapidly 
disappear.  Remember  that  the  county  attorney  and  other  public  officials 
in  the  last  analysis  are  responsible  to  the  people. 

I  want  to  put  before  you  this  one  thought:  Spend  as  much  time  try- 
ing to  devise  ways  and  means  of  making  public  opinion  in  your  county 
effective  as  you  spend  in  deprecating  the  flaws  in  the  existing  law  and  the 
failures  of  the  public  officials  to  perform  their  duty  properly. 

This  morning  we  are  to  touch  upon  subjects  which  from  our  own  par- 
ticular point  of  view  have  a  special  significance.  I  want  to  talk  with  you 
on  the  subjects  of  adoption,  placement,  illegitimacy  and  feeblemindedness; 
and  I  want  to  say  here  that  I  am  not  making  a  speech;  I  am  going  to  take 
up  these  subjects  point  by  point,  in  a  general  way,  and  I  want  you  to  inter- 
rupt whenever  you  are  moved  to  do  so  in  order  that  we  may  be  informal 
and  in  order  that  we  may  get  at  the  root  of  the  situation. 

First  let  me  consider  the  subject  of  adoption  and  placement.  Then 
I  am  going  to  ask  Miss  Hays,  of  the  Children's  Bureau,  to  follow  with 
further  points  in  the  discussion. 

First  of  all,  what  is  the  law?  What  are  we  driving  at?  The  law  pro- 
vides that  when  a  petition  for  adoption  is  filed  in  the  district  court,  that 
petition  is  referred  to  the  State  Board  of  Control  for  investigation;  and 
it  is  the  duty  and  the  obligation  of  the  board  to  report  to  the  district 
court  whether  or  not  this  particular  home  is  a  suitable  home  for  this 
particular  child;  not  whether  this  in  general  is  a  good  home,  but  whether 
this  particular  home  is  suited  to  this  particular  child.  It  is  the  obligation  of 
the  board  to  make  a  full  and  complete  report  to  the  court  of  the  conditions, 
just  exactly  as  the  board  finds  them.  Now  there  are  certain  exceptions 
to  the  law,  which  I  will  take  up  with  you  in  a  moment. 

Let  us  consider  first  this  primary  obligation  which  rests  upon  the 
Board  of  Control,  and  therefore  upon  the  child  welfare  boards.  If  a  pe- 
tition comes  to  us  from  a  county  in  which  there  is  a  child  welfare  board, 
that  petition  is  immediately  referred  to  that  board  for  investigation  and 
report.  Now,  you  will  see  at  once  that  all  the  information  which  the 
Board  of  Control  has  in  this  matter  is  the  information  which  your  board, 
upon  a  personal  investigation,  is  able  to  report.  Remember  further 
that  when  that  report  goes  to  the  court,  it  purports  to  be  a  fair  and  ac- 
curate statement  of  the  conditions  as  they  exist  in  any  given  home. 

There  is  a  very  positive,  a  very  serious,  obligation  resting  upon  any 
person  who  makes  an  investigation:  first  of  all  that  he  may  do  justice 
to  the  child,  because  that  child  will  remain  in  the  home  permanently;  his 
future  will  be  shaped;  his  prospects  in  life  will  be  determined;  whether  he 
is  allowed  to  labor  at  an  early  age,  whether  he  is  to  be  sent  to  school  and 
given  full  educational  advantages,  what  his  prospects  are  to  be  in  every 
way,  will  be  determined  in  a  very  large  part  by  the  report  which  comes 
to  the  State  Board  of  Control  in  regard  to  the  proposed  foster  home. 

First,  then,  you  have  a  high  and  solemn  obligation  to  the  child.  That 
obligation  is  primary;  that  obligation  is  fundamental. 

The  second  obiligation  is  to  be  perfectly  fair,  perfectly  unbiased,  per- 
fectly reasonable,  in  your  investigation  of  the  proposed  foster  home.  You 
may  know  this  particular  family.  You  may  have  some  bias  one  way  or 


another.  That  is  unfortunate.  Your  obligation,  so  far  as  it  is  humanly 
possible,  is  to  remove  that  bias,  remove  the  prejudice,  say  the  .honest,  the 
fair  thing;  say  the  thing  which  in  all  good  conscience  you  can  stand  by 
under  any  circumstances.  Never  permit  any  questions  of  political  diffei*- 
ences,  religious  differences,  differences  in  point  of  view,  to  in  any  way 
affect  the  report  which  you  are  going  to  make. 

And  then  there  is  your  obligation  to  the  State  Board  of  Control.  You 
have  all  seen  the  report  which  the  board  sends  to  the  district  court  in 
these  matters.  Some  of  you  think  it  is  unnecessarily  detailed,  unnecessar- 
rily  long;  but  remember  that  the  law  states  that  the  board  shall  give  a  FULL 
report  to  the  court,  and  in  order  to  get  an  adequate  picture  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  home  where  it  is  proposed  to  put  the  child,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  go  into  all  all  these  details  and  to  answer  this  multitude  of  ques- 
tions. The  blank  has  been  prepared  not  with  the  idea  of  making  your 
work  more  difficult  than  necessary,  but  with  the  idea  that  when  it  has  been 
accurately  and  thoroughly  filled  out,  we  shall  be  able  to  say  to  the  court: 
''This  is  a  good  home,  and  here  are  the  facts  in  the  case." 

Sometimes  it  becomes  necessary  for  you,  after  having  made  a  most  im- 
partial and  unbiased  investigation,  to  say  something  which  is  distinctly 
against  the  family,  as  the  result  of  your  investigation,  and  oftentimes  mem- 
bers of  these  boards  have  hesitated  to  be  quite  frank  about  it.  For  in- 
stance, they  have  said:  "We  do  not  want  to  be  on  record  as  saying  some- 
thing detrimental  to  these  people.  They  are  our  friends  and  our  neigh- 
bors; it  may  mean  trouble.'" 

Your  relationship  with  the  'State  Board  of  Control  is  first  of  all  a  con- 
fidential relationship.  If  you  have  something  to  say  that  you  do  not  want 
to  appear  on  the  public  record  of  the  case,  and  you  feel  that  the  informa- 
tion is  vital  to  the  decision  of  the  whole  question,  it  is  your  privilege  to 
present  whatever  information  you  may  have  and  make  whatever  request 
you  may  care  to  make  with  regard  to  its  use. 

I  say  this  because  it  is  so  necessary  to  make  child  welfare  boards  un- 
derstand that  we  must  get  the  full  picture,  good  or  bad.  What  we  are 
trying  to  do  is  to  protect  the  child,  and  unless  we  know  all  the  facts  as 
you  know  them,  we  are  not  in  a  positioi^  to  deal  fairly,  and  that  is  the 
very  essence  of  our  whole  work:  to  be  fair,  absolutely  fair  and  unbiased, 
with  but  a  single  thought  in  mind:  What  is  for  the  best  interest  of  this 
given  child?  Be  thorough,  then,  if  you  please;  be  accurate;  make  an  ef- 
fort to  give  us  all  the  information  which  is  at  your  command. 

Oftentimes  the  question  comes  up,  "What  are  the  exceptions  to  the 
adoption  law?"  The  statute  has  provided  that  in  certain  cases  the  district 
court  may  waive  the  investigation  made  by  the  State  Board  of  Control  upon 
good  cause  shown.  I  think  I  know  something  of  the  reason  behind  that 
exception.  I  know  that  those  who  framed  the  law  had  in  mind  that  the 
exception  should  be  applied  only  in  extreme  cases.  It  is  not  to  be  ap- 
plied except  under  the  most  unusual  circumstances,  and  I  am  very  glad 
to  say  to  you  that  the  number  of  cases  where  investigation  by  the  Board 
of  Control  is  waived  is  exceedingly  small.  The  great  majority  of  these  cases 
are  referred  for  investigation,  as  the  law  intended  that  they  should  be, 
and  I  trust  you  will  urge  upon  your  courts  and  your  attorneys  the  ne- 

81 


cessity  for  giving  the  child  every  possible  protection,  even  though  you  may 
be  fairly  sure  you  know  the  circumstances. 

Remember,  my  friends,  and  I  know  your  work  up  to  this  time  has 
convinced  you  of  the  truth  of  what  I  am  going  to  say,  you  don't  see  every- 
thing on  the  outside.  The  mere  fact  that  a  family  has  an  income  of  fifty 
thousand  dollars  may  mean  something  or  it  may  mean  nothing;  and,  after 
all,  if  you  are  going  to  find  out  if  this  particular  child  is  fitted  to  this  par- 
ticular home,  the  only  way  you  will  find  out  is  by  going  into  the  home. 
No  investigation  was  ever  made  that  is  worth  the  paper  it  is  written  on 
except  an  investigation  where  the  person  making  it  goes  into  the  home  and 
talks  to  the  people  that  he  is  trying  to  learn  something  about.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  greatest  sinner  on  earth  can  get  the  best  people  in  his  com- 
munity to  write  him  a  letter  of  recommendation.  To  rely  on  a  letter  of 
recommendation  is  not  only  an  insult  to  the  spirit  of  the  statute,  tmt  it  is 
the  grossest  kind  of  injustice  to  the  welfare  of  the  child  whose  interest 
you  are  bound  to  protect. 

Now,  I  turn  from  .the  subject  of  adoption  to  the  related  subject  of  place- 
ment of  the  children.  In  taking  up  this  subject,  I  want  to  review  with  you, 
trieFy,  the  policy  which  has  been  formally  adopted  by  the  State  Board  of 
Control  with  reference  to  the  acToptio.i  of  children.  I  want  to  read  these 
paragraphs  to  you  as  they  appear  here,  and  to  discuss  them  briefly: 

"1.  Every  placement  of  a  child  in  a  family  home  should  be  reported  to 
the  Srjte  Board  of  Control' without  deJay.  A  reasonable  time  for  the  :e- 
porting  of  such  placements  will  be  allowed.  With  the  report  of  placement 
should  be  sent  a  history  sheet  of  ihe  child  and  investigation  sheet  relative 
to  the  fam'.y  receiving  the  child.  All  these  blanks  are  furnished  by  the 
Board  of  Control.  Within  fifteen  days  after  a  placement  is  made,  it  shou.d 
be  reported." 

Now,  I  think  that  paragraph  is  fairly  clear.  Any  person,  any  agency 
plaMrg  a  ch:ld  in  a  permanent  home  under  the  statutes  should  report  that 
placo:n<»nt  to  the  State  'Board  of  Control;  and  of  course  it  is  assumed  that 
no  person  and  no  agency  would  take  the  very  serious  responsibility  of  plac- 
ing a  child  without  having  itself  first  made  a  thorough  and  careful  invssti- 
gation.  With  that  report  of  a  placement  should  be  sent  to  the  Board  of 
Control  a  summary  of  the  facts  which  the  agency  or  person  placing  the 
child  has  sent  out  with  regard  to  the  family: 

"2.  The  law  requires  that  every  agency  placing  a  child  shall  make  a 
contract  or  written  agreement  with  the  person  receiving  the  child,  providing 
for  the  return  of  the  child  to  the  agency  placing  it,  if  the  placement  does  n-  t 
meet  with  the  approval  either  of  the  agency  placing  or  the  State  Board  of 
Control.  Care  should  be  taken  to  inform  the  parties  receiving  the  child 
that  the  placement  is  purely  temporary  until  approved  by  the  State  Board 
of  Control,  and  that  disapproval  by  that  Board  must  result  in  the  return  of 
the  child.  The  agency  placing  the  child  is  responsible  for  this  return." 

Now,  the  reason  for  that  particular  statement  of  policy  can  be  sumed  up 
in  what  has  been  our  experience  up  to  this  time.  When  an  agency  place:? 
a.  child  in  a  family  home,  the  people  in  that  home  immediately  assume  that 
the  incident  is  closed,  and  that  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  done.  Th.it 
is  not  the  case.  The  law  provides  that  the  Board  shall  make  this  further 

82 


and  subsequent  investigation.  And  so  all  persons  who  receive  children 
either  from  persons  or  agents  should  be  informed  in  advance  that  the 
placement  is  a  temporary  placement  until  both  the  agents  placing  the  child 
and  the  State  Board  of  Control  are  satisfied  that  the  home  is  a  good  one. 

"3.  Every  agency  dealing  with  children  must  keep  in  the  record,  pre- 
scribed by  the  Board  of  Control  for  that  purpose,  full  reports  as  to  every 
child  received  and  placed.  This  record  relates  to  the  parents  of  the  chiM, 
;ts  history,  the  manner  by  which  it  came  into  the  custody  of  the  agency, 
erc. " 

I  think  there  is  no  further  comment  needed  with  regard  to  that  para- 
graph. 

Mr.  Jager:  In  regard  to  the  paragraph  just  passed,  there  is  a  very 
serious  point  in  the  matter:  that  of  providing  for  the  return  of  the  child  to 
the  agents  after  the  child  has  once  been  placed.  I  think  every  one  who 
has  tried  to  do  this  sort  of  work  will  understand  me.  There  is  a  great  re- 
luctance on  the  part  of  people  to  take  a  child  unless  they  can  be  assured 
that  when  they  take  it  into  the  home,  it  may  not  be  taken  away  from  them 
within  a  few  weeks.  They  want  assurance  that  they  can  keep  that  child 
provided  they  fulfill  the  obligation. 

Mr.  Hodson:  You  question  is  very  pertinent.  It  is  very  difficult  to  in- 
vestigate promptly.  We  have  been  sorely  handicapped  by  lack  of  sufficient 
agents  to  do  so,  and  there  has  been  a  greater  delay  in  many  cases  than  i 
like  to  have.  I  hope  that  some  time  soon  we  may  be  able  to  take  up  those 
placements  more  promptly.  The  adoptions  are  investigated  first  in  all  in- 
stances. The  only  thing  that  can  be  said  at  the  present  time  is  that  if 
conditions  are  found  to  be  satisfactory  the  child  will  not  be  taken  away, 
and  that  the  investigation  will  be  made  as  promptly  as  our  resources  will 
permit. 

"4.  Every  agency  placing  children  must  make  a  full  personal  inves- 
tigation of  the  home  to  which  the  child  is  sent.  Correspondence  is  not 
sufficient  in  these  matters  and  very  often  leads  to  serious  complications. 
A  personal  visit  by  the  agent  and  careful  inquiry  among  references  not  given 
by  the  family,  as  well  as  those  given  by  the  family,  should  be  made." 

I  have  covered  most  of  that  except  the  matter  of  references.  You  will 
readily  see  the  importance  of  getting  a  varied  and  unbiased  picture  of  the 
home  by  going  to  persons  who  are  not  specifically  mentioned  as  references 
You  will  often  get  very  illuminating  information  from  neighbors;  from  those 
who  are  not  given  as  references;  from  other  people  in  the  community  from 
tradesmen;  from  the  dealers  in  the  community;  and  others  who  may  offer 
very  valuable  information  as  to  this  particlar  family.  Don't  De  satisfied 
urder  any  circumstances  after  inquiry  among  those  whom  tiio  family  has 
given  as  references.  It  is  important  and  must  be  consider!,  but  remember 
there  are  other  sources  of  information  which  must  likewise  be  tapped. 

"5.  Ir.  every  case  Protestant  children  should  be  placed  in  Protestant 
homes  and  Catholic  children  in  Catholic  homes." 

The  importance  of  this  paragraph  will  appeal  to  you  at  once,  I  am 
sure.  If  we  are  going  to  respect,  as  we  must  respect,  the  religious  convic- 
tions of  various  bodies  and  sects  in  the  state,  we  must  adopt  a  general  rule 
and  apply  it  fairly  and  honestly,  and  that  is  what  this  particular  paragraph 

S3 


seeks  to  do:  to  place  Catholic  children  in  Catholic  homes ; Protestant  chil- 
dren in  Protestant  homes;  fair  and  reasonable,  I  am  sure  you  will  agree. 

''6.  Whenever  the  children's  bureau  recommends  to  the  Board  of  Con- 
trol the  disapproval  of  placement,  it  shall  notify  the  agency  placing  the 
child  and  permit  that  agency  to  present  its  case  to  the  State  Board  of  Con- 
trol in  a  hearing  to  be  arranged  for.  It  should  be  definitely  understood  that 
after  such  notice  and  hearing,  the  action  taken  by  the  State  Board  of  Con- 
trol will  be  final  and  irrevocable.  If  no  word  is  received  from  the  agency 
placing  the  child  within  ten  days  aft°r  notice  of  prospective  disapproval, 
the  Board  will  act  without  a  hearing." 

The  principle  there  simply  is  that  every  person  is  entitled  to  his  day 
in  court,  so  to  speak,  and  where  it  becomes  necessary  to  recommend  dis- 
approval, whether  a  placement  or  an  adoption,  it  is  only  fair  that  the  per- 
sons interested  should  receive  notice  and  have  an  opportunity  to  present 
to  the  Board  of  Control  any  information  or  any  point  of  view  which  they 
desire,  and  to  that  end  the  paragraph  just  read  has  been  adopted. 

"7.  Children  of  about  the  same  age  and  opposite  sex  should  never  be 
placed  in  the  same  home,  nor  should  a  child  be  placed  in  a  home  which 
already  has  another  child  of  like  age  and  opposite  sex.  An  exception  can 
be  made  where  a  brother  and  sister  are  placed  in  the  same  home." 

I  wish  1  could  tell  you  the  story  of  a  child,  a  girl,  a  very  young  girl, 
placed  in  a  home  in  one  of  the  larger  cities  of  the  state,  where  there  was  a 
boy  of  about  the  same  age.  At  thirteen  years  of  age,  if  I  remember  cor- 
rectly, at  all  events  not  far  from  that  age,  this  young  girl  became  a  mother, 
and  the  father  of  her  child  was  her  foster  brother.  Is  it  necessary  for  me 
to  say  more  concerning  this  point? 

People  have  sometimes  said:  "Why,  you  don't  appreciate  the  kind  of 
a  home  that  we  maintain.  Nothing  of  that  sort  could  possibly  happen  in  my 
home."  But  remember  that  tfie  possibilities  are  always  there  under  the 
strictest  kind  of  supervision,  in  the  best  homes;  and  in  order  to  avoid  any 
possible  danger,  we  should  always  strive  to  see  that  children  of  the  op- 
posite sex,  of  the  same  age,  are  not.  placed  in  the  same  home.  Let  us  be  on 
the  safe  side.  The  case  I  have  cited  may  not  be  a  typical  case,  but  it  is  a 
possible  case,  and  it  is  our  obligation  to  strain  in  every  possible  way  against 
probabilities  and  against  possible  danger. 

Mr.  Jager:  My  point  of  view  is  the  welfare  of  the  child  based  on 
twenty  years'  experience.  The  best  home  for  a  boy,  other  things  being 
equal,  is  where  he  will  associate  with  girls  near  his  own  age,  as  brother 
and  sister.  If  one  out  of  each  one  hundred  boys  abuses  that  privilege,  I 
would  still  plead  that  the  other  ninety-nine  should  not  suffer  because  of  that 
possible  danger.  But  this  rule  will  not  only  deprive  them  of  this  privi- 
leged home;  at  least  fifty  per  cent  of  them  will  be  condemned  to  remain  in 
institutions  until  they  are  large  enough  to  have  a  commercial  value,  when 
they  will  be  taken  for  work  and  not  to  be  loved  and  raised  as  one  of  the 
family,  as  an  own  child.  I  would  suggest  that  this  rule  apply  to  girls  of 
school  age  and  in  a  limited  way  to  boys  of  school  age,  as  we  have  always  ap- 
plied it  at  the  state  school.  To  boys  and  girls  below  school  age,  I  would 
apply  it  only  in  exceptional  cases.  I  believe  the  rule  too  expensive  for  the 
good  of  the  boy,  and  if  I  were  one  of  them  I  would  "appeal  to  Caesar." 

84 


Mr.  Hodson:  I  am  very  glad  to  say  to  you,  Mr.  Jager,  that  we  are  try- 
ing to  develop  these  rules  in  the  line  of  experience  that  we  have  had;  and 
there  was  no  rule — 1  speak  for  the  children's  bureau  and  I  am  sure  it  is 
the  policy  of  the  State  Board  of  Control — ever  made  that  experience  will 
not  qualify. 

I  believe  we  should  approach  the  problem,  not  from  the  standpoint  of 
difficulty  of  placement,  although  I  recognize  what  that  means,  but  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  child.  It  is  admitted  that  this  rule  makes  placement 
more  difficult,  and  I  think  that  point  was  considered.  If  in  one  case,  let 
me  say,  in  a  thousand,  the  thing  which  I  have  cited  could  happen,  it  would 
seem  to  point  to  a  reason  for  the  rule.  In  other  words,  we  have  approaches 
the  problem  from  the  point  of  view  that  if  we  have  made  any  mistakes,  if 
we  go  too  far,  we  ought  to  go  too  far  in  the  direction  of  protecting  the  child 
and  not  in  the  other.  I  can  see  the  difficulty  involved. 

I  can  see  the  distinction  that  you  offer  of  placing  a  boy  in  a  home  and 
placing  a  girl  in  a  home.  I  wonder  whether  we  are  not  safer  in  abiding  by 
that  rule  in  the  hope  that  we  may  prevent  any  possible  danger  at  any  future 
time?  The  one  case  that  I  cited  is  not  a  single  case.  I  know  of  at  least  two 
other  cases  of  a  similar  nature,  and  it  was  out  of  those  cases  that  this  rule 
grew. 

Delegate:  I  should  like  to  ask,  if  we  refuse  to  place  children  of  either 
sex  in  the  home,  won't  the  people  who  are  very  anxious  to  have  both  a  boy 
and  a  girl  go  to  another  state?  A  lady  who  has  a  little  girl  has  said  to  me: 
"When  that  girl  is  two  years  old,  I  want  to  adopt  a  little  boy."  I  replied: 
"But  it  isn't  possible  for  you  to  do  that."  She  said,  "Then  I  will  go  down  to 
Illinois  and  get  a  boy." 

Mr.  Hodson:  If  Illinois  wants  to  do  that,  we  have  nothing  to  say.  Of 
course  the  statute  provides  that  under  certain  conditions  a  child  cannot  be 
brought  into  the  state  without  the  approval  of  the  State  Board  of  Control. 
There  are  limitations,  however,  to  thnt  policy.  Where  a  child  is  brought 
in  by  the  family  itself  for  the  purpose  of  adoption,  an  exception  is  made. 
We  can't  prevent  a  person  from  bringing  a  child  into  the  state  for  the  pur- 
pose of  adoption. 

Delegate:  If  it  isn't  time  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  child  welfare  board 
and  circumstances  warrant  interference  in  the  home  where  a  child  has  been 
placed,  and  you  feel  that  the  child  is  in  great  danger,  what  is  the  proper 
course  to  pursue? 

Mr.  Hodson:  You  will  have  to  remember,  first  of  all,  that  the  members 
of  the  county  child  welfare  board  do  not  have  so-called  police  power.  The 
powers  of  the  board  are  rather  to  stimulate  action  on  the  part  of  county 
officials,  when  the  occasion  demands  it. 

The  procedure  which  must  be  followed  in  these  cases  is  to  forward  a 
petition  to  the  juvenile  court  asking  that  this  child  be  brought  before  the 
court  and  detained  until  such  time  as  investigation  can  be  made.  Your  only 
remedy  is  that  which  is  prescribed  by  the  statutes,  the  remedy  of  going  be- 
fore the  juvenile  court. 

Mrs.  Miller:  I  had  a  little  experience  with  two  unmarried  mothers  who 
came  from  Dakota  to  our  city.  These  mothers  returned  to  their  homes  and 
left  their  babies  in  homes  that  were  terrible,  and  I  think  they  would  have 

85 


died  had  they  remained  there  long.  One  of  these  mothers  was  a  crippled 
girl,  twenty-eight  years  old,  and  her  baby  was  deformed.  I  explained  that 
under  the  new  law  a  bond  would  have  to  be  given  to  the  State  Board  of 
Control  for  importing  children  into  the  state.  They  refused  to  do  this,  so 
the  babies  were  sent  back  to  Dakota. 

Mr.  Hodson:  The  situation  which  you  present,  Mrs.  Miller,  is  of  a  type 
that  the  law  was  designed  to  meet;  to  prevent  people  from  bringing  chil- 
dren into  the  state  and  putting  them  into  bad  homes  and  having  them  be- 
come a  charge  upon  the  community. 

"8.  In  determining  standards  of  placement,  it  should  be  understood 
that  the  Board  of  Control  does  not  regard  wealth  of  prospective  foster  par- 
ents as  a  determining  factor.  A  wealthy  home  may  be  as  good  or  as  bad  as 
a  modest  home.  Any  family  with  sufficient  income  to  live  according  to  de- 
cent American  standards  is  eligible  sc  far  as  finances  are  concerned.  The 
real  question  is  whether  in  any  given  case  a  home  is  a  good  home  in  the 
fullest  and  broadest  sense  of  that  term;  such  a  home  as  the  person  placing 
the  child  would  be  willing  to  place  his  own  children  in,  should  necessity  re- 
quire." 

I  was  very  much  interested  to  find  that  the  first  reaction  to  the  kind  of 
investigation  which  the  Board  of  Control  undertook  in  these  matters  was 
that  we  were  seeking  to  find  a  lot  of  wealthy  homes  for  a  lot  of  poor  chil- 
dren, and  to  take  the  child  from  the  poor  home  and  place  him  in  the  wealthy 
home.  In  fact,  I  had  one  man  say  to  me:  "Just  how  wealthy  does  a  fam- 
ily have  to  be?" 

It  is  perfectly  obvious  that  a  good  home  does  not  imply  a  superabund- 
ance of  money.  The  question  simply  is  whether  that  family  has  sufficient 
funds  to  live,  as  the  resolution  states,  in  a  decent  way,  according  to  a  de- 
cent standard.  We  do  not  care  how  much  money  a  family  has  beyond  the 
point  where  they  can  live  according  to  the  proper  standard.  The  question 
of  wealth  is  not  to  be  a  determining  factor.  In  fact,  I  would  say  that  it 
is  not  really  a  very  important  factor. 

The  question  is  whether  you  have  a  good  home.  Have  you  people  who 
appreciate  the  value  of  education?  Have  you  people  who  appreciate  the 
need  for  keeping  children  out  of  factories  and  workshops  and  giving  them 
proper  opportunities  for  moral  development?  Have  you  a  home  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  that  word? 

Just  one  other  point.  It  seems  to  me  that  in  most  cases  placements 
should  be  made — this,  by  the  way,  is  riot  a  part  of  the  general  resolution — 
with  a  view  to  adoption.  It  always  seems  to  me  that  if  a  child  is  taken  into 
a  home  he  should  remain  there  permanently.  It  is  rather  unfair  that  he 
should  not  be  adopted  after  he  has  been  placed  in  a  home.  If  he  is  not 
adopted,  it  is  very  possible  that  distinctions  and  discriminations  may  de- 
velop. The  other  children  in  the  fami-y  will  say:  "Oh,  you  are  not  one  of 
us;  you  are  not  one  of  our  brothers;  you  just  live  here;  you  do  not  belong 
to  our  family."  Now,  I  do  not  know  what  experience  will  develop  on  that 
particular  point,  but  it  seems  to  me,  where  a  child  is  to  remain  permanently 
in  the  home,  it  is  a  gross  injustice  to  him  not  to  give  him  the  fullest  rights 
in  the  family.  He  is  entitled  to  a  family  home;  he  is  entitled  to  the  rights 
of  family  life;  and  if  you  place  him  in  a  home  where  he  is  not  adopted,  I 

86 


say  there  is  a  possibility  that  he  msy  be  discriminated  against;  and  it 
seems  that  placements  should  be  made  with  a  view  to  ultimate  adoption  in 
order  that  the  child  may  not  only  assume  the  obligations  which  he  always 
assumes  whether  adopted  or  not,  but  that  he  may  also  have  the  rights  which 
ought  to  be  correlative  to  those  obligations. 

Mrs.  Miller:  It  is  similar  to  the  ^.ase  that  we  have  been  working  with. 
The  mother  died  of  tuberculosis  and  left  a  little  boy  seven  months  old.  For 
a  time  he  was  left  at  the  hospital,  and  then  his  father  took  him  for  a  short 
time,  when  he  had  to  be  brought  bar.k  to  the  hospital  in  a  very  bad  con- 
dition from  lack  of  proper  food  and  care.  He  remained  there  over  two  years, 
when  the  superintendent  applied  to  me  to  remove  him  to  a  home  where 
he  could  be  cared  for  properly.  The  father  was  not  able  to  take  him,  as  he 
had  remarried  and  his  wife  refused  to  care  for  his  children.  He  had  placed 
one  of  his  children  in  a  home,  to  be  clothed  and  educated;  so  he  asked  me 
to  find  such  a  home  for  the  boy.  He  was  not  willing  to  consent  to  adop- 
tion. We  have  many  cases  like  this  where  we  could  place  them  temporarily. 
Would  you  approve  of  this  where  well  to-do  people  are  willing  to  support  and 
educate  them,  yet  do  not  care  to  adopt  them.  I  finally  persuaded  the  father 
to  let  me  place  the  boy  in  a  nice  home  for  adoption,  so  he  will  be  well  taken 
care  of. 

Mr.  Hodson:  I  think  you  ought  t  differentiate  between  the  permanent 
placement  and  the  temporary  placement.  Where  it  is  a  matter  of  per- 
manent placement,  where  the  child  is  to  remain  permanently  in  the  home, 
it  is  an  entirely  different  matter  from  the  temporary  placement. 

Mrs.  Miller:  Suppose  the  parents  were  willing  to  place  them  for  sup- 
port and  education,  yet  would  not  give  them  for  adoption,  would  it  not  be 
better  than  to  leave  them  where  there  was  no  means  of  helping  them? 

Mr.  Hodson:  The  mere  fact  of  their  being  poor  is  not  sufficient  to  jus- 
tify taking  the  child  away  or  in  consenting  to  the  child's  going. 

Edna  Mulvey,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Stillwater:  If  a  child  has  been 
placed  on  probation  in  a  family  where  some  conditions  have  been  found 
unsuitable,  yet  the  family  is  anxious  to  keep  the  child,  are  they  given  a 
certain  time  in  which  they  can  remedy  these  things  if  they  will? 

Mr  Hodson:  It  is  a  very  common  situation.  Where  some  adjustment 
is  to  be  made  in  the  family  conditions,  it  is  desirable  to  allow  time  for  im- 
provement. 

Miss  Mulvey:  If  a  family  has  taken  a  child,  thinking  that  they  would 
be  allowed  to  keep  it,  but  after  investigation  it  is  taken  away,  can  they  ever 
claim  compensation  for  that  child's  care? 

Mr.  Hodson:  That  would  depend  entirely  on  the  nature  of  the  contract 
they  entered  into.  If  there  is  no  contract,  I  think  they  would  have  no  claim 
for  support.  Their  only  claim  would  be  on  the  contract  made  between  them 
and  the  agency  which  placed  the  child. 

D.  C.  Mackenzie,  Superintendent  Glen  Lake  Detention  Home  for  Boys: 
Is  there  any  reason,  in  this  matter  of  placement,  why  that  placement  should 
not,  at  the  end  of  six  months  or  a  year,  result  in  adoption?  Why  not  make 
the  matter  so  strong  that  the  requirement  would  be  that  at  the  end  of  six 
months  or  a  year  placement  should  result  in  adoption? 

87 


Mr.  Hodson:  There  is  no  such  absolute  requirement  at  the  present 
time,  but  the  spirit  of  what  you  say,  it  seems  to  me,  is  absolutely  sound. 
A  child  who  remains  in  a  home  for  that  length  of  time  should  be  given  a 
definite  legal  status;  he  should  have  rights  as  well  as  obligations. 

Mr.  Mackenzie:  Should  not  the  Board  of  Control  encourage  that  adop- 
tion; make  the  matter  positive  rather  than  leave  it  as  it  is  now? 

Mr.  Hodson:     That  is  my  personal  view  of  it. 

Wm.  Schwentker,  Evangelical  Lutheran  Kinderfreund  Society:  Is  rule 
7  applicable  to  such  small  children  as  the  speaker  over  there  referred  to? 

Mr.  Hodson:  I  think  there  is  a  difference  there.  Where  children  are 
brought  together  at  a  very  early  age  and  are  brought  up  to  manhood  and 
womanhood,  the  situation  is  somewhat  different;  but  even  there,  why  take 
a  chance? 

Mrs.  W.  S.  Downing,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Osakis:  In  adopting  these 
children,  or  these  babies,  how  about  tneir  foster  parents'  informing  them 
of  their  foster  parentage? 

Mr.  Merrill:  In  the  case  of  a  child  who  has  been  taken  into  juvenile 
court,  and  the  court  has  assigned  the  guardianship  of  that  child  to  an  insti- 
tution or  child-caring  agency,  the  authority  of  the  parents  over  it  is  can- 
celed, the  parents  having  been  notified  and  given  a  chance  to  appear  at  the 
hearing.  Thereafter  the  agency  or  the  institution  to  which  its  guardianship 
has  been  assigned  is  not  required  to  again  notify  the  parents  of  any  subse- 
quent disposition  of  the  child. 

Mr.  Hodson:  Where  an  individual  family  takes  a  child,  what  is  your 
judgment  as  to  the  wisdom  of  that  family's  informing  the  child  that  he  is 
an  adopted  child? 

Mr.  Merrill:     I  believe  it  should  be  done. 

Elsie  W.  Barkhoefer,  State  Agent,  Minnesota  State  Public  School:  I 
should  like  to  ask  what  you  would  suggest  as  the  minimum  difference  in 
age  in  placing  children  of  the  opposite  sex  in  the  same  household? 

Mr.  Hodson:  Somebody  is  always  asking  an  embarrassing  question.  It 
is  a  very  practical  question. 

It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  safe  to  say,  in  a  general  way,  that  there  should 
be  about  six  years'  difference.  Five  or  six  years'  difference  would  be  in 
the  right  direction,  but  that  is  a  question  which  it  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  answer  in  more  definite  terms  than  that. 

Mrs.  H.  B.  Sweetser,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Hennepin  County:  What  is 
the  general  opinion  about  informing  the  mother  of  an  illegitimate  child  of 
the  whereabouts  of  her  adopted  child?  A  mother  is  often  very  anxious  to 
see  or  hear  about  her  child,  and  get  its  picture,  or  something  of  that  kind. 
Wihile  we  favor  giving  the  mother  a  picture,  I  do  not  think  it  is  wise  to  in- 
form her  of  its  whereabouts.  What  do  you  think  of  it? 

Mr.  Hodson:  I  think  it  is  a  great  mistake,  because  the  complications 
that  may  arise  will  tend  toward  unfortunate  experiences. 

The  question  is  whether  the  unmarried  mother  should  know  where  her 
child  is.  The  opinion  expressed  thus  far  is  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  in- 
form her. 

Judge  Harris:  Something  like  twelve  years  ago  three  children  were 
taken  from  a  mother  and  given  to  an  institution.  Two  of  the  girls  are 

88 


now  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age.  The  mother  has  prayed  with  me 
to  find  those  children;  she  was  unable  to  find  them.  I  located  them,  but 
I  have  retained  the  location,  believing  it  advisable.  I  have  promised  the 
grieved  mother  that  I  would  visit  those  children  myself  this  coming  sum- 
mer. I  also  learned  that  they  were  in  a  good  family.  They  were  Nor- 
wegian children,  and  their  present  home  is  with  Swedish  people. 

I  have  always  believed  it  advisable,  for  the  protection  of  the  foster 
parents,  that  those  children  should  not  know  where  their  own  mother  is  at 
the  present  time. 

In  my  own  experience,  at  the  age  of  four  years  my  heart  was  broken 
because  school  children  said,  '"Mrs.  Beers  is  not  your  mother."  That 
grieved  me,  but  it  never  hurt  my  affection  for  the  foster  mother.  She  was 
my  mother's  sister.  A  child  never  had  a  better  mother  than  I  had. 

I  believe  the  own  mother  should  be  kept  ignorant  of  its  whereabouts 
when  the  child  is  well  taken  care  of. 

Arthur  F.  Kilbourne,  M.  D.,  Superintendent,  Rochester  State  Hospital: 
I  do  not  know  much  about  this  question,  but  I  disagree  with  that  sentiment 
entirely.  Has  the  mother  of  an  illegitimate  child  less  mother  love  for 
that  child  than  the  wife?  Not  at  all.  I  think  it  depends  altogether  on  the 
condition  in  life  of  that  mother.  If  she  is  afterwards  married,  and  her 
husband  wants  her  to  take  that  child,  she  ought  to  have  it.  I  do  not  know 
why,  because  the  child  is  illegitimate,  the  mother  should  be  kept  in  ignor- 
ance of  its  whereabouts.  Charity  is  a  very  disagreeable  thing  when  it  is 
run  by  rote. 

Mrs.  D.  S.  Cummings,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Waseca  County:  Have  we 
any  right  to  consider  the  mother,  or  must  we  think  only  of  the  child?  Dr. 
Kilbourne  evidently  considers  the  welfare  of  the  mother.  If  she  could  be 
saved  by  the  love  of  her  child,  certainly  some  consideration  should  be 
given  her. 

Mrs.  J.  W.  Murdoch,  Child  Welfare  Board,  Wabasha  County:  Is  there 
any  definite  length  of  time  a  child  must  be  kept  in  a  home  without  taking 
legal  steps  for  adoption? 

Mr.  Hodson:  There  is  no  legal  requirement.  Six  months  is  the  mini- 
mum. It  cannot  be  adopted  before  that. 

Mrs.  Sweetser:  In  speaking  of  the  placement  of  the  child,  I  used  the 
word  "illegitimate."  I  did  not  mean  to  confine  my  question  to  illegitimate 
children.  I  put  the  question  to  find  out  whether  in  your  opinion  the  mother 
of  a  child  who  had  been  adopted  by  foster  parents  should  be  informed  of 
its  whereabouts. 

Mr.  Hodson:  I  w^ill  ask  Miss  Hays  to  tell  you  something  about  her  part 
of  the  work.  Miss  Hays  is  connected  with  the  Children's  Bureau. 

Ecel  Hays,  Children's  Bureau,  St.  Paul:  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about 
investigations  and  the  filling  out  of  the  blanks  on  adoptions  and  place- 
ments. And  I  will  speak  to  you  as  though  you  were  all  inexperienced  in  the 
work. 

In  making  an  investigation  of  a  home,  you  may  find  that  some  families 
resent  it.  Some  of  us  may  be  very  tactless— there  is  no  formula  for  tact— 
but  we  can  be  kind  and  have  patience.  It  is  always  advisable  to  explain 
to  the  family  very  carefully  why  you  come  and  concerning  the  law  and  its 

89 


aim  to  protect  the  child;  that  no  matter  how  good  a  home  may  be,  an  in- 
vestigation is  required  for  all  alike.  If  there  be  a  slight  coolness  on  the 
part  of  the  foster  mother,  it  might  ease  matters  to  begin  by  talking  about 
the  child,  its  length  of  stay  in  the  home,  etc.  It  is  difficult  sometimes  for 
an  individual  living  in  the  community  to  make  an  investigation;  especially 
is  this  true  in  a  small  town  where  everyone  knows  everybody  else.  If  there 
are  insurmountable  difficulties,  if  you  think  the  home  will  have  to  be  dis- 
approved, or  if  there  is  to  be  a  delay  in  forwarding  a  report,  please  let  this 
bureau  know. 

Now,  concerning  the  detail  of  the  report  blank:  Most  of  the  items  and 
questions  on  this  blank  and  their  meanings  are  obvious.  But  please  do  not 
think  that  any  one  of  them  is  unimportant.  Every  one  of  them  was  put 
there  for  a  purpose,  and  while  you  may  think  "this  one  is  nonsensical  ire 
this  particular  case"  or  "the  omission  of  that  answer  will  not  matter,"  re- 
member that  this  department,  in  deciding  the  future  of  a  child,  needs  a  great 
deal  of  information.  Whether  vor  not  a  family  owns  a  piano  will  not  be  a 
deciding  factor  in  either  approval  or  disapproval  of  the  suitability  of  the 
home,  but  the  answer  to  every  question  will  give  us  a  complete,  clear  pic- 
ture of  the  people  and  of  the  home. 

Instead  of  answering,  "How  long  has  the  child  been  in  proposed  home?" 
with  the  length  of  time,  place  there  the  exact  date  of  the  child  entered  the 
home.  This  is  necessary  on  account  of  the  six  months'  residence  required 
by  the  statute  in  the  matter  of  adoption. 

"Names  of  family  and  degree  of  relationship" — Should  there  be  chil- 
dren in  the  family,  either  natural  or  adopted,  their  names,  ages  and  occupa- 
tion should  be  stated. 

Under  "nationality,"  if  foreign  born,  a  statement  should  be  included 
as  to  citizenship  papers. 

"Occupation  and  income"  should  include  where  the  man  is  employed; 
and  here  also  is  a  good  place  to  mention  his  ability  and  willingness  to  meet 
his  obligations  of  indebtedness. 

"Reference  given"  and  "independent  references" — This  is  most  im- 
portant. Often  those  given  by  the  family  are  friends  and  might  be  uncon- 
sciously biased  in  favor  of  the  family.  In  justice  to  the  child,  not  upon 
one  individual's  opinion  but  upon  many  must  a  decision  be  made.  The 
kind  of  references  also  helps  in  determining  the  kind  of  family  involved.  In- 
dependent references  should  include  neighbors  as  well  as  trades  people. 
Please  do  not  fail  to  check  all  the  names  of  persons  seen;  and  they  should 
be  seen,  not  merely  corresponded  with.  Sometimes  the  family  wishing  to 
adopt  a  child  desires  the  matter  kept  secret.  That  wish  should  be  respected 
when  possible,  but  if  the  information  cannot  be  secured  without  telling  the 
motive  of  the  inquiry,  then  the  reference  should  be  informed.  When  folks 
feel  that  a  family  should  not  be  permitted  to  bring  up  a  child,  but  are 
hesitant  about  saying  so,  if  they  are  convinced  of  the  investigator's  sin- 
cerity in  holding  confidential  any  adverse  statements,  also  that  the  welfare 
of  the  child  depends  upon  references'  honesty  of  expression,  they  never 
fail  to  discuss  the  matter  thoroughly  and  plainly.  And  just  a  word  of  cau- 
tion: Confidences  must  be  held  as  confidences  and  should  be  so  designated 
in  the  report;  also  in  the  community  these  matters  of  adoptions  and  place- 

90 


ments  should  not  be  discussed  at  random;    they  are  personal  affairs  and 
should  never  be  divulged  by  an  investigating  agent. 

"Use  of  intoxicants"  needs  an  answer.  If  the  man  takes  an  occasional 
glass,  the  fact  should  be  noted. 

"Family  physicians — name  and  address,"  must  not  be  omitted  from  the 
blank,  and  if  possible,  he  should  be  interviewed  because  he  stands  in  a 
position  to  know  the  family  well;  perhaps  better  than  anyone  else. 

Please  never  fail  to  give  the  religion  of  both  the  man  and  the  woman 
and  their  attitude  toward  the  child's  religious  upbringing. 

As  mentioned  before,  whether  or  not  a  home  has  a  piano,  books,  maga- 
zines, daily  papers,  or  an  automobile,  may  not  be  the  determining  factors 
in  deciding  the  future  of  the  child,  yet  the  knowledge  of  these  things  helps 
us  to  determine  what  kind  of  a  home  it  is;  besides,  an  auto  does  offer  fre- 
quently, in  rural  districts,  opportunities  for  recreation  otherwise  not  at- 
tained. 

''Describe  home  and  manner  of  its  care — cleanliness — sanitation.  If 
farm  property,  describe  appearance  of  buildings."  Please  be  explicit  and 
detailed  in  this  particular;  give  a  clear  idea  of  the  interior  of  the  home — 
whether  or  not  it  is  comfortably  furnished;  if  it  is  pleasant;  if  the  beds  are 
poor,  tell  how  they  are  poor,  and  not  in  general  terms. 

The  "standing  of  the  family  in  the  community"  is  very  important,  as 
is  the  length  of  residence.  When  the  family  has  been  in  the  neighborhood 
only  a  short  time  (say  two  years  or  less),  references  from  their  former 
place  of  residence  should  be  secured.  In  all  cases  two  years  may  not  be 
a  sufficient  length  of  time  in  which  to  acquire  a  fair  reputation. 

Where  there  is  insurance,  please  do  not  answer  "yes,"  but  with  the 
amount. 

"Education — natural  refinement" — We  should  like,  under  this  item,  the 
exact  schooling  of  both  the  man  and  the  woman;  whether  or  not  it  is 
eighth  grade,  high  school,  etc.,  and  their  attitude  toward  education  in  gen- 
eral and  the  child's  in  particular.  If  the  family  is  not  refined,  do  not  hesitate 
to  say  so. 

"Personality,  temperament  and  disposition  of  members  of  family" — if 
the  family  is  unknown  to  the  investigator,  it  may  be  difficult  to  judge  these 
things  in  one  visit.  Therefore  it  will  be  necessary  to  trust  to  the  references 
who  have  known  the  people  in  question  a  long  time.  Especially  should  we 
know  as  much  about  the  family  life  as  possible  and  the  congeniality.  If 
there  are  children  in  the  family  (or  grown  children  away  from  home),  what 
are  they  like  and  have  this  man  and  woman  been  successful  in  bringing 
up  their  own  children? 

"Summary  of  report  of  references  and  independent  sources  of  inves- 
tigation"— Here  we  would  like  the  exact  statements  of  references  and,  if 
necessary,  add  another  sheet  of  paper.  A  copy  of  this  report  (same  kind 
of  blank)  goes  to  the  district  judge  who  decides  the  adoption.  For  this 
reason,  also,  do  we  desire  a  complete,  thorough,  unbiased  picture.  However, 
the  words  of  the  references  are  not  forwarded  to  the  judge;  merely  the  sum- 
mary with  the  statement  that  the  list  and  report  of  references  is  on  file  in 
this  office. 

91 


"Recommendation" — Kindly  give  us  your  honest  opinion  upon  the  mat- 
ter and  any  sidelights  that  you  may  have  which  would  help  us  in  deciding 
what  is  best  for  the  child;  not  what  is  best  for  the  family,  that  is  of  sec- 
ondary importance. 

We  are  receiving  some  splendid  reports  from  the  county  child  welfare 
boards.  We  appreciate  these,  and  if  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  ask  for  addi- 
tional information  after  you  have  investigated,  please  remember  it  is  only 
because  at  far-range  we  cannot  see  the  case  clearly  enough. 

You  might  be  interested  in  knowing  that  up  to  date  we  have  handled 
486  adoptions  and  405  placements. 

Mrs.  Miller:  Under  No.  42,  length  of  residence,  you  said  that  if  they 
hadn't  been  here  long  we  should  go  back  to  their  former  home  for  informa- 
tion. Tnat  is  rather  difficult.  'Suppose  they  have  come  from  another 
state? 

Miss  Hays:  That  is  exactly  what  we  want.  Ask  the  family  where  they 
lived  before  coming  here;  then  write  to  some  of  the  people  in  that  town. 
In  the  buieau  we  have  a  file  of  agencies  that  do  that  work  for  us  in  other 
states.  We  require  at  least  three  references  from  other  homes. 

Mr.  Hodson:  I  see  that  the  hour  is  getting  along,  so  I  will  try  to  make 
as  brief  as  possible  what  I  have  to  say  in  order  that  Miss  JMonahan  can 
give  you  the  benefit  of  her  experience  in  the  field. 

There  is  no  problem  more  difficult  to  handle,  presenting  more  complex 
problems,  than  that  of  illegitimacy.  I  know  that  all  of  you  who  have  dealt 
with  this  problem  will  agree  with  me  that  all  the  other  problems  together 
present  no  such  difficulties  as  the  unmarried  mother  and  the  illegitimate 
child. 

The  important  thing  to  emphasize  with  regard  to  this  field  of  our  work 
is  that  it  is  experimental.  We  are  feeling  our  way;  we  are  trying  to  do  the 
thing  which  the  law  prescribes,  but  we  are  trying  to  do  it  intelligently  and 
sympathetically,  and  we  are  trying  to  interpret  our  duties  under  that  law 
in  the  light  of  what  seems  reasonable  and  sound,  and  therefore  we  can 
speak  in  this  particular  field  with  much  less  assurance  and  with  much  less 
of  the  feeling  of  positive  conviction  than  possibly  in  any  other  field. 

Now,  in  general  work,  the  question  is,  "What  is  to  the  welfare  and  the 
benefit  of  the  illegitimate  child?"  I  know  you  will  agree  with  me  that  the 
welfare  of  the  illegitimate  child  himself  is  the  primary  consideration.  The 
question  of  the  welfare  of  the  mother  must  be  considered,  but  it  is  second- 
ary to  that  of  the  child.  The  question  of  the  welfare  of  the  father  of  that 
child  is  one  on  which  we  needn't  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  here.  The 
primary  consideration  is  the  child;  the  secondary  consideration  is  the 
mother.  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me  that  when  the  interests  of  the 
child  and  the  mother  clash,  then  we  must  do  the  thing  which  is  to  the  in- 
terest of  the  child. 

Now,  my  friends,  prior  to  the  passage  of  our  present  laws,  the  state 
of  Minnesota,  officially  at  least,  was  more  concerned  in  the  matter  of  pro- 
viding financial  assurance  to  the  county  in  these  matters  than  it  was  with 
the  welfare  of  the  child.  I  believe  that  the  state  of  Minnesota  officially,* 
before  the  passage  of  the  present  laws,  was  more  concerned  about  pro- 
tecting the  mother  of  the  child  and  her  family  and  the  father  of  the  child 

92 


and  his  family  than  it  was  about  the  child.  The  experience  of  many  of  you, 
and  of  others  who  have  worked  in  this  field,  has  demonstrated  that.  Apart 
from  your  individual  efforts,  the  official  position  of  the  state  was  one  which 
harked  back  to  the  days  of  barbarism;  and  it  is  certainly  clear,  as  you  look 
over  the  laws  of  other  states  in  the  union,  as  you  look  over  the  practices  in 
the  state  of  Minnesota,  that  the  conception  of  the  state  with  regard  to  the 
illegitimate  child  was  barbaric  and  medieval.  The  child  was  called  a  bastard, 
an  unknown  to  the  law,  without  legal  status;  therefore  without  right  to 
consideration.  Let  me  say,  incidentally,  that  the  laws  of  Minnesota  have 
done  a  thing  which  may  seem  sentimental,  but  which  at  heart  is  a  very  real 
thing;  they  have  eliminated  that  horrible  word  "bastard." 

Now,  what  seem  to  be  at  this  time  the  fundamental  considerations  in 
the  care  of  the  illegitimate  child  and  the  unmarried  mother?  The  law  pro- 
vides, of  course,  that  the  Board  of  Control  shall  have,  as  its  first  duty  or  as 
one  of  its  first  duties,  the  establishment  of  paternity.  The  child  is  en- 
titled to  a  legally  responsible  father.  The  father  of  that  child  ought  to  bear 
his  legal  responsibility,  and  the  mother  of  the  child  should  bear  her  legal 
responsibility  and  her  moral  responsibility,  apart  from  the  question  of  giv- 
ing to  the  child  a  legally  responsible  parentage.  The  question  of  a  child's 
having  a  legally  responsible  father  is  something  more  than  a  purely  senti- 
mental question;  the  question  of  a  child's  having  a  legally  responsible  father 
is  something  more  than  a  purely  financial  question;  there  are  issues  which 
go  deeper  than  either  the  question  of  sentiment  or  the  question  of  finances. 

We  begin  with  the  problem  when  we  care  for  the  mother  before  the 
birth  of  the  child.  That  is  the  place  to  begin.  You  have  heard  a  great 
deal  about  the  kind  of  care  that  should  be  given  to  mothers.  You  heard 
yesterday  with  regard  to  the  matter  of  nursing  and  medical  service  and 
proper  prenatal  care.  The  illegitimate  child  is  just  like  any  other  child; 
he  responds  to  the  same  influences.  The  mother  of  an  illegitimate  child  is 
in  exactly  the  same  condition,  so  far  as  that  child  is  concerned,  as  any 
other  mother,  and  whatever  measures  are  taken  for  the  protection  of  the 
legitimate  child  must  apply  with  the  same  force  to  the  illegitimate  child. 
Everything  that  the  state  of  Minnesota  does  for  its  children  born  in  lawful 
wedlock,  it  must  do  for  its  children  born  out  of  wedlock,  or  it  is  not  per- 
forming its  proper  function.  There  is  the  question  of  prenatal  care,  con- 
finement, after-care,  and  of  course  the  paramount  question  of  the  nursing 
of  the  infant  by  its  own  mother. 

You  say  to  me:  "What  shall  we  do  when  we  know  about  an  unmarried 
mother?"  It  seems  to  me  if  she  is  to  be  provided  with  adequate  care  in 
the  beginning,  she  is  not  likely  to  get  it  at  the  so-called  general  hospitals. 
Please  do  not  misunderstand  me.  I  am  not  casting  any  reflections  on  the 
general  hospital.  It  is  not  equipped  to  deal  with  the  specific  problem  of 
the  unmarried  mother.  It  is  almost  impossible  for  general  hospitals  to  take 
her  in  three  months  before  confinement,  to  keep  her  there  from  three  to 
six  months  afterwards,  in  order  that  she  may  nurse  her  infant.  Unless 
those  things  are  possible,  the  unmarried  mother  and  the  child  born  out  of 
wedlock  are  not  going  to  receive  proper  consideration.  There  are  in  Min- 
nesota, hospitals  conducted  by  people  who  know  their  problem,  by  people 
who  are  not  in  the  game  for  what  is  in  it  for  themselves,  who  are  doing 

93 


a  noble  and  far-reaching  work  for  the  unmarried  mothers.  Hospitals  of  that 
character  receive  the  mother  early,  just  as  early  as  she  wants  to  come,  and 
it  is  understood  that  she  will  remain  for  a  certain  denned  period  and  nurse 
her  child  and  give  that  child  a  fair  chance  to  begin  life  with  a  sound  body. 

Authorities  agree  that  fifty  per  cent  of  the  difficulties  which  arise  in 
the  first  month  of  an  infant's  life  would  be  entirely  wiped  out  if  all  infants 
were  breast-fed.  Our  problem  is  to  see  that,  so  far  as  it  is  humanly  pos- 
sible to  do  so,  every  mother  nurses  her  child  for  the  longest  possible  time. 
I  feel  perfectly  sure  that  whatever  may  be  the  divergent  views  in  this  as- 
sembly, you  will  all  agree  with  me  that  on  this  matter  of  the  nursing  of  the 
infant  by  the  mother  there  can  be  no  difference  of  opinion. 

The  'State  Board  of  Health  has  joined  with  the  State  Board  of  Control  in 
a  resolution  providing  that  all  hospitals,  the  specialized  kind  which  I  have 
spoken  of  and  the  general  hospitals,  shall  not  receive  patients  for  maternity 
care  except  upon  the  understanding  that  all  such  patients  shall  nurse  their 
:own  infants.  So,  in  your  community,  if  you  know  of  a  hospital  that  is  receiv- 
ing married  or  unmarried  mothers  and  is  not  requiring  that  the  mothers 
nurse  their  infants,  it  is  plainly  in  violation  of  the  existing  laws  upon  the 
subject. 

Of  course  there  is  an  exception  for  physical  disability,  but  I  am  very 
glad  to  say  to  you  that  Dr.  Sedgwick,  of  Minneapolis,  has  recently  said  that 
the  number  of  mothers  incapable  of  nursing  their  infants  is  very  very 
small  indeed;  so  that  it  is  the  very  rare  and  the  very  exceptional  case  that 
a  mother  can  not  nurse  her  own  infant.  If  there  are  difficulties  it  is  only 
in  rare  cases  where  those  difficulties  cannot  be  overcome. 

That  is  the  starting  point:  prenatal  care  for  the  mother,  proper  care  at 
confinement,  and  proper  after-care,  and,  also,  the  requirement  that  she 
nurse  her  infant;  and  it  is  our  job  and  our  duty  to  see  that  she  does  that 
just  as  long  as  she  possibly  can.  Of  course  somebody  is  going  to  say  that 
that  costs  money.  It  does. 

The  question  of  paternity  is  the  second  point  to  be  considered.  You 
know  there  is  a  wide  difference  of  opinion  among  certain  public  officials 
in  this  matter  of  the  establishment  of  paternity.  I  respect  that  difference 
of  opinion,  although  I  disagree  with  it  from  its  very  foundation.  If  I  were 
convinced  that  the  average  public  official  objected  to  the  establishment  of 
paternity  because  he  believed  it  was 'in  the  interest  of  the  child,  I  would 
feel  differently.  But  what  is  the  case?  You  very  frequently  hear  this  ob- 
jection: "If  we  establish  paternity  it  is  going  to  be  hard  on  this  girl's 
family;  it  is  going  to  expose  this  man,  and  this  man  is  a  very  well  known 
man  in  this  community."  'Certainly  that  is  the  kind  of  objection  which  we 
have  most  frequently  heard  in  the  Children's  Bureau.  I  recall  very  few 
cases  where  we  have  ever  heard  the  comment,  "I  don't  believe  paternity 
should  be  established  in  this  case  because  I  don't  think  it  would  do  the 
child  any  good." 

I  think  that  is  a  remarkable  commentary  on  the  point  of  view.  As 
members  of  the  county  child  welfare  boards  you  are  charged  with  the  sacred 
responsibility  of  the  child's  interest.  The  primary  question  is  the  question 
of  the  child 

94 


What  is  the  procedure  in  the  establishment  of  paternity?  The  county 
official  who  deals  with  the  case  is  the  county  attorney.  He  is  the  person 
to  whom  the  information  must  be  given,  and  in  the  normal  case  the  girl 
must  file  her  complaint  with  the  county  attorney,  setting  forth  the  facts. 

Now,  I  want  to  ask  you,  when  these  cases  come  to  your  attention,  to 
urge,  so  far  as  possible,  that  the  hearings  be  held  in  private.  There  is  no 
reason  in  the  world  why  a  girl  should  have  to  be  paraded  before  the  people 
of  her  community  in  relating  the  story  of  her  sorrow.  Neither  humanity 
nor  justice  will  permit  such  a  thing  to  occur. 

Our  statute  expressly  provides  that  in  the  court  of  the  justice  of  peace, 
where  the  case  is  originally  heard,  the  court,  on  request  of  either  party, 
may  clear  the  court  room.  Certainly  that  is  a  protection  to  the  unmar- 
ried mother  and  to  her  child  which  should  be  given.  When  it  comes  to  the 
district  court,  the  statute  makes  no  special  mention  of  it,  but  I  believe  some 
judges  have  agreed  that  the  court  room  should  be  cleared,  at  least  while 
the  girl  tells  her  own  story.  The  people  who  attend  these  hearings  come 
for  no  good  purpose;  they  have  no  right  to  be  there;  and  I  hope  some  time 
the  legislature  will  enact  a  law  requiring  the  judges  to  clear  the  court 
room  in  all  cases  involving  sex. 

The  statute  provides  that  the  father  of  an  illegitimate  child  shall  be 
subject  to  the  same  responsibility  as  though  the  child  were  born  to  him  in 
lawful  marriage;  in  other  words,  so  far  as  the  responsibility  of  the  father 
is  concerned,  there  is  no  distinction  between  the  legitimate  and  the  ille- 
gitimate child.  I  recognize,  of  course,  that  the  difficulties  involved  in  the 
administration  of  this  law  are  complicated  and  sometimes  quite  beyond  us, 
but  the  thing  we  must  strive  for  is  to  enforce  the  responsibility  of  that 
father  to  the  very  limit. 

Assuming  that  you  have  established  paternity,  and  made  the  father 
of  the  child  legally  responsible,  and  assuming  that  the  mother  has  nursed 
her  infant  for  the  longest  possible  period,  then  what?  When  we  get  into 
the  question  as  to  whether  a  mother  should  keep  her  child  indefinitely,  there 
is  more  difference  of  opinion  than  on  any  other  phase  of  this  particular 
problem,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  only  general  answer  which  can  be  given 
is  this:  .  |  !  j  <*j^|fj 

Whether  or  not  the  mother  should  keep  her  illegitimate  child  perma- 
nently— remember  that  it  is  her  child;  she  has  some  right  in  the  matter; 
you  can't  ignore  her  entirely — the  question  is,  "Will  this  mother  provide  for 
this  child  a  suitable  home?"  Not  whether  she  will  provide  as  good  a  home 
as  someone  else  might,  but  whether  or  not  she  is  a  fit  person  morally; 
whether  she  is  a  capable  person  economically;  whether  the  situation  can 
be  met  so  that  she  will  be  enabled  not  only  to  provide  the  necessities  of  life 
for  herself  and  her  child,  but  whether  she  can  provide  that  child  with  the 
proper  sort  of  moral  environment,  education  and  development,  that  the  child 
is  entitled  to. 

I  think  for  the  time  being  we  can  well  lay  the  greatest  stress  upon  the 
first  two  questions,  establishment  of  paternity  and  the  nursing  of  the  in- 
fant by  the  mother,  and  then  let  the  other  matter,  the  question  of  the  per- 
manent custody  of  that  child,  abide  the  circumstances  of  the  particular  case. 
You  can't  deal  with  these  cases  on  a  cast-iron  basis;  you  can't  deal  with 

95 


them  with  a  single  rule;  but  you  can  always  keep  foremost  certain  general 
principles;  and  I  have  tried  to  show  what  those  general  principles  are. 

Florence  Monahan,  Children's  Bureau,  St.  Paul:  During  tne  past  year 
it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  meet  the  members  of  a  great  many  of  the 
county  child  welfare  boards,  and  I  think  'Minnesota  is  to  be  congratulated  on 
the  splendid  type  of  public-spirited  men  and  women  who  are  giving  their 
time  and  attention  to  this  work.  The  Board  of  Control  has  been  most  for- 
tunate in  its  appointments. 

Minnesota  is  the  only  state  which  is  trying  out  this  system  of  county 
child  welfare  boards.  The  theory  upon  which  the  law  creating  the  boards 
is  based  is  that  the  people  living  in  a  community  know  its  conditions  best, 
and  they,  co-operating  with  the  state,  ought  to  be  best  able  to  bring  about 
needed  changes.  The  whole  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  theory  rests  upon  the 
individual  members  of  the  county  child  welfare  boards.  Other  states  are 
watching  us  to  see  how  our  plan  is  working,  and  we  are  anxious  to  show 
,them  that  Minnesota  people  are  in  their  own  counties  able  to  handle  child- 
welfare  problems. 

The  members  are  appointed  for  one-year  terms  by  the  Board  of  Control, 
two  of  those  appointed  holding  office  by  virtue  of  their  offices.  These  are 
the  county  superintendent  of  schools  and  one  county  commissioner  desig- 
nated by  the  County  Board  of  Commissioners.  If  at  any  time  there  is  a 
change  in  membership,  notice  should  be  sent  to  the  Board  of  Control.  All 
new  members  must  be  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Control. 

As  soon  as  a  board  is  appointed,  it  should  organize  and  choose  perma- 
nent officers.  Regular  meetings  should  be  arranged.  We  urge  meetings  at 
least  once  a  month,  preferably  near  the  time  the  county  commissioners 
meet,  so  that  if  you  have  any  matter  to  bring  before  them  it  will  not  be 
delayed.  These  meetings  are  necessary  that  members  may  discuss  cases 
being  handled  and  get  the  benefit  of  the  opinions  of  others  on  the  board. 

A  permanent  record  book  for  the  minutes  of  all  meetings  is  necessary. 
Minutes  kept  on  loose  sheets  of  paper  are  soon  lost.  Records  of  all  cases 
handled  should  be  kept  by  the  secretary.  At  present  in  many  counties  the 
records  are  scattered  amongst  the  members  and  generally  kept  with  their 
private  correspondence.  They  are  apt  to  be  lost,  or  come  under  the  obser- 
vation of  people  who  have  no  right  to  see  them.  Most  of  the  county  child 
welfare  boards  meet  in  the  court  house  in  the  office  of  the  superintendent 
of  schools  or  in  the  county  commissioners'  room.  We  advise  you  to  buy  a 
small  filling  cabinet,  which  can  be  kept  locked.  The  secretary  should  be 
responsible  for  the  files.  Whenever  a  case  is  reported  to  the  Board  of  Con- 
trol as  completed,  the  county  file  should  be  placed  in  the  filing  cabinet. 
The  file  should  include  all  correspondence  in  the  case  and  a  brief  account 
of  the  work  done.  In  this  way  you  can  keep  track  of  the  amount  of  work 
you  are  doing  and  refer  back  to  a  case  whenever  it  is  necessary  to  do  so. 

The  expenses  of  the  child  welfare  board  are  to  be  paid  out  of  the  county 
funds  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  county  commissioners.  Many  of  the 
counties  have  already  made  arrangements  with  their  county  commissioners 
for  expenses.  I  shall  read  the  list  as  we  have  it,  and  if  there  are  any  cor- 
rections, I  wish  you  would  make  them: 

96 


Counties  Paying  Expense  of  Child  Welfare  Boards. 

Chippewa  Olmstead— to  meetings  Watonwan 

Douglas  Polk  Lac  qui  Parle 

Kandiyohi  Renville  Lincoln 

Lyon  Stearns  Murray 

Meeker  Swift  Rice 


Counties  Where  Appropriations  for  Child  Welfare  Boards  Have  Been  Made. 

Aitkin   $200.00 

Chisago 400.00  ($100  a  month  for  agent  four  months)  $675  by 

subscription. 

Crow  Wing 500.00 

Freeborn 100.00  a  month,  agent,  and  expense. 

Hennepin 5,000.00  two  agents  at  $1,500,  one  stenographer. 

Mahnomen 500.00  and  expenses  for  agent. 

St.  Louis 2,000.00  a  year  agent,  assistant  at  $900  and  stenographer. 

Washington 50.00  a  month  and  expenses. 

Winona 3,000.00  agent. 

Wabasha 300.00 

Waseca 600.00 

Clay 300.00 

Yellow  Medicine.        250.00 

Otter  Tail 415.72  spent  1918;  $150  to  secretary,  30  cents  an  hour 

and  expenses  to  agents. 

Ramsey  4,000.00  agent  at  $1,500;  assistant  at  $1,200;  stenog- 
rapher. 

You  see  some  county  commissioners  have  agreed  to  pay  expenses,  while 
others  have  made  a  definite  appropriation.  We  feel  there  are  two  or  three 
advantages  in  having  an  appropriation.  One  is  that  the  county  stands  in 
its  records  as  willing  to  pay  a  certain  sum  for  the  child  welfare  work  of 
the  county.  Another  is  that  you  know  just  how  much  there  is  to  spend.  We 
can  imagine  a  county  board  which  has  agreed  to  pay  expenses,  discovering 
that  it  is  running  short,  and,  to  retrench,  refusing  to  approve  bills  which 
have  perhaps  already  been  paid  by  members  of  the  child  welfare  board. 
We  know  the  members  will  be  as  economical  in  the  expenditure  of  this 
money  as  possible,  and  think  they  would  feel  on  surer  ground  with  an 
appropriation. 

The  law  very  generally  states  the  duties  of  the  child  welfare  board  by 
saying:  "The  child  welfare  board  shall  perform  such  duties  as  may  be 
required  of  it  by  the  Board  of  Control  in  furtherance  of  the  purpose  of  this 
act." 

Members  have  been  asked  to  investigate  adoptions,  cases  of  feeble- 
minded children,  neglected,  delinquent  and  dependent  children,  and  county 
allowances.  All  of  these  will  be  or  have  been  discussed  by  others  on  the 
program. 

I  shall  speak  very  briefly  on  the  work  of  caring  for  unmarried  mothers 
and  illegitimate  children. 

97 


Mr.  Hodson  has  already  outlined  the  general  policy  of  the  Board  of 
Control  in  these  cases. 

The  Board  of  Control  obtains  its  general  authority  in  these  cases  under 
chapter  194,  section  2,  Laws  of  1917,  which  says: 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Board  of  Control  when  notified  of  a  woman 
who  is  delivered  of  an  illegitimate  child  or  pregnant  with  child  likely  to  be 
illegitimate  when  born,  to  take  care  that  the  interests  of  the  child  are  safe- 
guarded, that  appropriate  steps  are  taken  to  establish  his  paternity,  and  that 
there  is  secured  for  him  the  nearest  possible  approximation  to  the  care, 
support  and  education  that  he  would  be  entitled  to  if  born  of  lawful  mar- 
riage. For  the  better  accomplishment  of  these  purposes  the  board  may 
initiate  such  legal  or  other  action  as  is  deemed  necessary;  may  make  such 
provision  for  the  care,  maintenance  and  education  of  the  child  as  the  best 
interests  of  the  child  may  from  time  to  time  require,  and  may  offer  its  aid 
and  protection  in  such  ways  as  are  found  wise  and  expedient  to  the  unmar- 
ried woman  approaching  motherhood." 

We  are  coming  more  and  more  to  see  the  advantage  of  pushing  these 
cases  to  a  judgment.  If  the  matter  goes  through  the  regular  procedure  in 
court,  when  we  have  a  judgment  of  paternity,  we  have  something  upon 
which*  future  actions — such  as,  non-support  and  desertion — can  be  based. 

To  tile  a  complaint  the  mother  is  taken  to  the  county  attorney,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  handle  these  matters.  Whether  a  complaint  shall  be  filed  or  not 
is  a  very  serious  question.  It  is  one  that  is  not  to  be  decided  entirely  by 
the  mother  or  her  parents.  The  question  is  whether  we  are  giving  the  child 
the  fullest  protection  under  the  law  if  we  do  not  make  every  effort  to  estab- 
lish paternity.  If  a  girl  is  unwilling  to  testify,  and  it  seems  best  for  the 
child,  to  prosecute,  there  is  a  provision  of  the  law  under  which  we  may 
proceed.  Chapter  210,  section  3222,  Laws  of  1917,  provides  that  the  mother 
can  be  brought  before  a  justice  of  the  peace  or  municipal  judge,  and  under 
oath  be  obliged  to  answer  questions  relative  to  the  paternity  of  her  child. 
Upon  the  information  thus  obtained,  the  complaint  in  illegitimacy  may  be 
filed.  This  method,  however,  is  only  to  be  used  as  a  last  resource  after 
every  effort  to  induce  the  mother  to  proceed  in  the  usual  way  has  failed. 

Under  chapter  210,  section  3225  (a),  the  Board  of  Control,  or  duly  ap- 
pointed guardian,  has  the  power  to  approve  settlements  where  the  duly 
adjudged  or  acknowledged  father  wishes  to  make  one.  Because  the  Board 
of  Control  is  insisting  that  two-and-three-hundred-dollar  settlements  are  in- 
adequate, some  attorneys  are  resorting  to  the  practice  of  having  guardians 
appointed  to  avoid  presenting  the  matter  to  the  Board  of  Control.  Under 
chapter  194,  which  says  the  Board  of  Control  shall  take  care  that  the  in- 
terests of  the  child  are  safeguarded,  we  think  we  can  still  object  to  these 
settlements. 

All  settlements  should  be  made  with  the  interests  of  the  child  in  mind. 
If  there  has  been  a  judgment  of  paternity,  a  settlement  providing  for  the 
payment  of  preconfinement  and  confinement  expenses  and  a  monthly  pay- 
ment sufficient  to  care  for  the  child  would  be  approved.  If  there  has  not 
been  a  judgment  of  paternity,  there  should  be  a  lump-sum  settlement  which 
is  large  enough  to  support  the  child  until  he  reaches  the  age  of  sixteen 

98 


years.  The  amount  paid  is  determined  by  the  financial  circumstances  of  the 
defendant. 

We  urge  the  prosecution  of  all  criminal  cases.  The  law  says  that  any 
man  who  has  sexual  relations  with  a  girl  under  the  age  of  eighteen  is  guilty 
of  the  crime  of  carnal  knowledge,  but  many  of  these  cases  are  never  prose- 
cuted. It  is  the  sworn  duty  of  the  county  attorney  to  prosecute  these  cases, 
and  the  community  ought  to  see  to  it  that  he  enforces  the  law. 

Mr.  Merrill:  When  the  age  of  the  girl  is  below  the  age  of  consent,  isn't 
the  man  who  acknowledges  his  paternity  of  her  child  confessing  the  crime 
of  carnal  knowledge?  Does  this  fact  make  it  difficult  to  establish  paternity 
in  such  cases? 

Miss  Monahan:  I  intended  to  say,  Mr.  Merrill,  that  we  are  very  anxious 
that  all  cases  of  carnal  knowledge  should  be  prosecuted.  While  we  have 
this  statute  on  our  books,  protecting  girls  under  the  age  of  eighteen,  it  has 
in  many  instances  not  been  enforced.  Certainly  any  man  who  has  had  re- 
lations with  a  girl  under  the  age  of  eighteen  ought  to  be  prosecuted. 

When  we  make  settlement  with  a  man  in  such  a  case,  we  give  him  full 
knowledge  of  the  law.  We  do  not  try  to  get  him  into  an  acknowledgment 
that  will  put  him  where  he  will  be  liable  under  a  criminal  charge.  We  al- 
ways give  him  a  clear  idea  of  the  whole  situation. 

We  have  had  cases  where  there  have  been  very  young  boys  and  girls 
involved;  boys  as  low  as  fourteen  years  and  girls  of  the  same  age.  The 
girl  is  not  old  enough  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  the  mother,  and  the 
boys  has  no  responsibility  as  a  father.  We  have  done  the  best  we  could 
under  the  circumstances,  and  taken  care  of  them  all  as  children.  We  think 
they  ought  to  be  brought  into  the  juvenile  court  as  moral  delinquents,  but 
we  haven't  had  any  criminal  prosecutions. 

Mr.  Merrill:  There  is  one  other  point  I  should  like  to  refer  to — I 
think  it  was  referred  to  in  >Mr.  Hodson's  discussion  of  the  question  of  in- 
vestigation of  homes  for  children — and  that  is  that  the  relations  between 
the  investigating  agents  and  the  person  investigated  should  be  regarded 
as  confidential,  as  confidential  as  those  between  a  lawyer  and  his  client,  or 
a  doctor  and  his  patient.  It  is  to  the  interest  of  all  concerned  that  this 
information  be  received  in  strict  confidence. 

Miss  Monahan:  I  think  sometimes  the  people  on  these  boards  have 
never  been  in  a  particularly  confidential  position  before,  and  at  first  it  was 
rather  hard  for  them  to  remember  that  everything  that  goes  on  in  their 
board  meetings  is  absolutely  confidential  and  should  never  be  mentioned  in 
their  homes.  Whenever  people  discuss  a  certain  case,  especially  these  ille- 
gitimacy cases,  whatever  a  child-welfare  member  knows  as  a  member  of  the 
board  should  never  be  told,  and  should  never  enter  into  his  life  outside 
of  the  board,  because  only  in  that  way  can  we  protect  the  interests  of 
these  girls.  This  is  a  very  sacred  obligation.  I  have  sometimes  been  hor- 
rified at  the  way  in  which  people  have  talked  about  these  cases  to  out- 
siders, because  they  did  not  realize  how  sacred  this  obligation  is. 

We  have  a  form  for  the  use  of  county  attorneys  in  reporting  all  com- 
plaints that  have  been  filed.  All  the  county  attorneys  have  not  done  that. 
We  are  able  to  know  about  the  case  beforehand  if  we  get  this  notice  be- 
fore the  judgment  is  entered. 

99 


(SATURDAY  AFTERNOON.) 

C.  J.  Swendsen,  Member  State  Board  of  Control:  Ladies  and  Gentle- 
men: You  are  now  visiting  an  institution  in  which  the  purest  kind  of 
charity  is  extended  and  in  which  almost  miracles  are  performed. 

Our  glorious  state  has  the  enviable  distinction  of  being  the  first  state 
in  the  union  to  establish  a  Hospital  for  Crippled  and  Deformed  Children. 
Had  it  not  been  for  Dr.  Gillette's  strong  advocacy  of  an  institution  of  this 
kind  and  the  strong  support  by  wide-awake  citizens,  Minnesota  would  not 
have  had  this  honor. 

Way  back  in  1897  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Correction  was  dis- 
cussing the  necessity  of  institutional  care  for  this  class  of  unfortunates. 
As  a  result,  the  legislature  of  1898  appropriated  $5,000  a  year  for  two  years 
to  be  expended  for  the  benefit  of  crippled  children  under  the  supervision  of 
the  Regents  of  the  University  of  Minnesota.  This  was  the  beginning  but 
it  was  not  until  1907  that  the  hospital  was  established.  Then  the  law  pro- 
vided that  it  should  be  under  the  supervision  of  the  State  Board  of  Control. 
However,  no  money  was  appropriated  until  1909,  when  $55,000  was  appro- 
priated for  the  purpose  of  erecting  the  first  building.  Since  then  several 
hundred  thousand  dollars  have  been  expended  for  expansion  and  support  of 
the  institution.  In  this  connection  I  want  to  say  that  the  state  legislature 
has  always  willingly  granted  the  appropriations  asked  for  for  this  institu- 
tion. 

Under  the  law  no  rich  man's  child  can  gain  admittance  here;  it  is  for 
indigent  children,  whose  parents  cannot  afford  to  pay  for  the  services  of  a 
physician  or  for  hospital  care.  Dr.  Gillette  and  his  staff  have  always  giv«n 
their  services  free  of  charge. 

We  are  fortunate  to  have  with  us  today  Dr.  Chatterton,  Dr.  Gillette's 
associate,  who  will,  in  an  illustrated  lecture,  tell  us  about  the  general  work 
of  the  hospital  and  the  wonderful  results  obtained: 


HOSPITAL  FOR  CRIPPLED  AND  DEFORMED 
CHILDREN,  ITS  PURPOSE  AND  WORK 

Carl  C.  Chatterton,  M.  D.,  Associate  Surgeon-in-Chief,  Hospital  for  Crippled 

Children. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  inform  you 
today  that  Minnesota  was  the  first  state  in  the  union  to  appropriate  money 
for  the  care  of  crippled  and  deformed  children.  Many  other  states  have 
quickly  followed  the  example  of  Minnesota,  and  most  of  these  communities 
look  to  Minnesota  as  the  forerunner,  and  their  appropriation  laws  corre- 
spond for  the  most  part  to  those  established  in  Minnesota. 

The  need  of  a  state  institution  to  care  for  indigent  children  is  apparent 
to  every  layman,  because  every  community  has  its  cripples.  City  indigent 
children  receive,  through  visiting  nurses,  hospital  clinics  and  charity  cen- 
ters, much  better  care  than  do  children  in  the  country.  In  the  northern 
in  mining  communities  or  poor  farming  districts  and  receive  only  a  meager 

100 


amount  of  treatment  from  their  physician's,.  ^4  ^un^° ifcf3&f>fly  »a  "'visiting 
nurse  was  unknown.  It  is  rare  indeed  that  a  child  from  the  southern  part 
of  our  state  makes  application  for  admission  to  this  institution,  because  the 
people  are  well-to-do  farmers,  and  children  have  good  care,  and  physicians 
are  more  prone  to  settle  in  a  community  that  is  well-to-do  than  in  a  sparsely 
settled  community  where  civilization  reaches  its  lowest  ebb. 

Of  the  number  of  cripples  in  our  state,  no  one  has  the  slightest  idea,  as 
a  survey  of  the  state  has  never  been  taken.  We  know,  however,  that  when 
infantile  paralysis  swept  Minnesota  in  1910,  it  left  no  less  than  6,000  chil- 
dren in  need  of  special  care.  Every  community,  every  village  and  every  ham- 
let has  its  cripples,  and  a  great  many  in  such  places  are  not  treated  because 
of  fear  of  treatment,  objection  on  the  part  of  the  parents,  or  because  they 
desire  to  continue  in  their  present  condition. 

Deformities  result  principally  from  one  of  four  causes: 

1.  Weakness.     By  this  I  mean  weakness  from  poor  hygiene,  poor  food 
and  clothing.    A  great  many  small  children  suffer  from  bony  deformities  of 
which  the  named  factors  are  the  essential  cause. 

2.  Injury — to  the  bones,  muscles,  tendons  or  joints — may  result  in  de- 
formity, but  deformity  is  apt  to  be  the  result  in  these  cases  of  poor  treat- 
ment or  neglect  in  treatment. 

3.  Diseases  cause  deformities  most  frequently,  as  we  have  disease  of 
the  bones,  muscles,  nerves,  and  joints,  which  may  result  in  serious  dis- 
ability if  not  properly  treated. 

4.  Congenital  Deformities.  They  are  perhaps  the  least  in  number,  and 
with  few  exceptions  are  rather  easily  cured.  Of  course,  .in  congenital  ab- 
sences of  parts  of  the  body,  treatment  is  of  practically  no  avail. 

The  greater  number  of  children  that  come  to  this  institution  suffer 
from  tubercular  joints  and  may  require  years  of  hospital  treatment.  In- 
fantile paralysis,  or  poliomyelitis,  is  probably  second  in  the  number  of  cases 
sent  to  this  institution.  Other  bone  joint  infections  perhaps  help  make  up 
the  third  class  in  number  of  patients  sent.  Poor  hygiene  causes  a  great 
number  of  deformities  in  the  young  infant.  Congenital  defects,  as  already 
stated,  are  the  least  in  number  to  appear,  and  most  of  these  give  good  re- 
sults upon  treatment. 

The  education  of  the  crippled  child  is  all  important,  and  it  is  of  special 
importance  that  this  child  receive  education  while  being  treated  in  a  medi- 
cal way,  because  he  must  be,  when  he  leaves  the  institution,  on  an  equal 
with  the  others  about  the  same  age.  Education  now  given  corresponds 
closely  to  the  eight  grades  of  a  common  school.  It  is  rare  that  such  a  child 
has  attained  such  a  degree  upon  admission.  If  the  child  becomes  proficient 
and  he  outgrows  the  eighth  grade,  suitable  provision  is  made  for  him. 

Vocational  training  is  also  very  important  to  the  crippled  child,  not 
only  as  a  curative  measure  but  also  as  a  profession  whereby  he  may  be- 
come self-supporting  and  need  not  go  back  to  his  community  inefficient  and 
again  become  a  parasite  upon  society. 

The  care  of  the  children:  Twenty-five  prominent  specialists  of  the 
Twin  Cities  give  their  time  and  attention  to  the  care  of  these  children  free 
of  charge,  and  we  believe  that  the  children  at  this  institution  receive  even 
better  care  than  we  could  give  them  as  private  patients,  because  of  the  co- 

101 


operation  an'l  general  good  feeling  at  the  hospital  and  the  advantage  of 
the  educational  department  along  with  the  medical  or  surgical  treatment. 

The  after-care  of  the  child  when  he  once  leaves  the  institution  is  also 
important.  We  know  perhaps  enough  as  to  his  medical  or  surgical  care,  but 
we  do  not  know  all  about  the  family  surroundings  or  conditions  this  child 
or  individual  must  resume  in  life  work.  We  hope  to  have  some  one  specially 
trained  to  follow  up  and  study  these  conditions. 

The  state  has  provided  bountifully,  given  a  hospital  worth  nearly  $200,- 
000,  and  enabled  us  to  care  for  over  2,500  patients  since  beginning  the  work. 
The  place  where  the  institution  now  stands  is  a  gift  from  St.  Paul,  and  our 
last  legislature  appropriated  a  sum  sufficiently  large  to  erect  an  addition 
which  will  make  the  hospital  fully  one-third  larger. 

(Moving  pictures  of  deformities  due  to  infantile  paralysis  were  shown, 
showing  patients  both  before  and  after  treatment.) 

Mr.  Swendsen:  We  have  with  us  today  a  lady  who  will  speak  to  us  on 
"County  Allowances  as  a  Paying  Investment." 

COUNTY  ALLOWANCES  AS  A  PAYING 
INVESTMENT 

Helen  Montegriffo,  Secretary,  Winona  County  Child  Welfare  Board. 

A  paying  investment  is  one  which  yields  a  profit,  and  we  should  not  be 
satisfied  with  just  a  profit  in  our  work,  like  the  business  man,  we  should 
desire  the  greatest  possible  profit  on  the  amount  invested.  When  a  busi- 
ness enterprise  does  not  yield  a  profit,  when  it  ceases  to  be  and  is  not  a 
paying  investment,  something  is  wrong.  Either  the  persons  in  that  par- 
ticular line  of  business  are  not  trained  for  it,  or  do  not  know  or  under- 
stand that  business,  or  are  not  sufficiently  interested  in  it,  a  want  of  effi- 
ciency ensuing,  or  that  particular  business,  on  account  of  location  or  lack 
of  demanu,  is  not  a  needed  business. 

Social  work  has  been,  is  and  always  will  be  a  needed  activity,  even  if 
we  were  to  reach  our  goal  in  the  work,  a  normal  community,  for  our  entire 
effort  would  then  have  to  center  on  work  to  maintain  such  standards. 

County  allowances  or  widows'  pensions  will  always  be  a  needed  branch 
of  social  activity.  If  we  should  reach  the  time  when  labor  and  capital, 
wages  and  prices,  would  be  so  adjusted  that  every  man  and  his  family 
could  live  according  to  normal  standards  of  living  and  save  for  the  day  of 
emergency,  and  even  if  we  should  reach  the  time  when  all  individuals  would 
become  so  socialized  that  man,  woman  and  child  knew,  understood,  co- 
operated, and  succeeded  on  the  income  from  earnings,  and  there  would  be 
a  modest  sum  of  savings  at  the  death  of  the  father,  we  should  still  need 
county  allowances  for  those  widows  whose  younger  children  still  at  home 
and  at  school  would  need  support  after  such  savings  would  be  exhausted, 
and  also,  when  the  income  from  the  older  children  then  being  employed 
would  not  meet  the  need  of  such  family.  Thus  we  see  that  county  allow- 
ances will  continue  to  be  a  needed  social  activity. 

The  need  being  established,  funds  are  now  placed  at  our  disposal.  A. 
double  consideration  in  the  distribution  of  such  funds  is  before  us:  first, 
the  family,  to  whom  the  funds  are  to  go,  and  then  the  community,  from 

102 


whom  the  funds  come.  The  juvenile  court,  the  pension  department,  and  its 
officers,  become  both  guardians  and  trustees.  Guardians  of  the  dependent, 
fatherless  family,  whether  fatherless  through  death,  insanity,  incurable  dis- 
ease or  because  of  his  incarceration  in  some  penal  institution,  are  appointed 
not  through  compulsion  but  through  choice,  to  see  that  the  legitimate  need 
of  these  children  is  met  by  this  fund.  And  we  owe  it  to  the  fatherless 
family  noc  dependent,  to  refuse  this  allowance  which  would,  given  in  such 
cases,  only  tend  to  pauperize  and  demoralize.  As  trustees  appointed  for  the 
distribution  of  such  fund,  we  owe  it  to  the  county  and  state  to  dispense  it 
wisely  and  properly.  We  should  be  doing  as  great  an  injustice  to  our  citi- 
zens to  give  such  an  allowance  when  it  is  not  needed  as  not  to  give  it  when 
it  is  needed.  On  the  one  hand  we  should  be  contributing  to  pauperism  in 
the  community;  on  the  other  we  should  be  contributing  to  delinquency  and 
needless  misery  and  suffering  in  the  community. 

County  officials  are  therefore  a  paying  investment  to  the  community: 

1.  When,  in  recommending  that  a  mother  be  granted  an  allowance,  we 
prevent  needless  suffering  and  misery. 

2.  When,  by  giving  an  allowance,  we  permit  the  mother  to  remain 
in  the  home  rather  than  let  her  be  constantly  out  of  it,  endeavoring  to  earn 
sufficient  for  the  children's  support. 

3.  When  we  keep  the  children  under  her  watchful  eye,  thus  keeping 
these  children  members  of  the  community  rather  than  having  them  spend 
their  early  years  in  an  institution,  to  come  out  wholly  unadjusted  and  un- 
prepared to  take  their  place  in  the  community,  for  there  is  no  home  like  the 
natural  home  under  right  conditions,  and  no  community  life  like  really  liv- 
ing in  the  community  itself. 

4.  And  when  we,  in  assisting  the  mother  direct  these  children,  prevent 
delinquency. 

Now  let  me  add  that  it  has  already  become  an  established  fact  in  the 
juvenile  court  of  Cook  county,  Chicago,  that  there  is  practically  no  delin- 
quency in  pension  families,  and  this  is  accounted  for  because  of  the  super- 
vision given  these  families.  In  the  1916  report  of  the  juvenile  court  of 
Cook  county,  Chicago,  in  all  their  pension  cases  there  were  only  eighteen 
cases  of  delinquency,  and  of  these  eighteen,  seven  were  delinquents  before 
their  respective  families  rceived  a  pension. 

County  allowances  are  paying  investments  to  the  family  when,  by  grant- 
ing such  allowance,  the  family  ties  and  affections  are  preserved,  rather 
made  stronger  than  weakened  .by  separation,  when  the  family  is  thereby 
kept  together,  whereas  its  members  would  otherwise  be  scattered  in  various 
institutions,  and  when  the  family  as  a  united,  consolidated  force  in  the  com- 
munity is,  through  the  supervision  accompanying  the  giving  of  such  a  pen- 
sion, guided  and  directed  into  channels  of  wholesome  recreation  and  ex- 
tended education  and  into  channels  of  scientific  economy  and  proper  home 
management  and  into  channels  which  will  lead  them  not  only  to  seek  and 
desire,  but  to  demand  and  appreciate  the  normal  standards  of  living. 

County  allowances  are  a  paying  investment  to  the  individual  in  our  pen- 
sion families  when,  to  each  member,  according  to  his  moral,  mental  and 
physical  condition  and  his  industrial  efficiency  not  forgetting  or  excluding 
his  temperamental  elements,  we  give  individual  attention  for  his  own  im- 

103 


provement  and  well-being  and  to  make  each  a  better  contribution  to  society. 

We  can  only  hope  to  accomplish  these  things,  to  make  county  allow- 
ances a  paying  investment  to  community,  to  family  and  to  individual,  when 
we  establish  a  friendly  relationship  between  our  family  and  ourselves,  and 
when  we  have  them  know  that  all  we  say  and  advise  and  do  is  for  their 
good,  and  when,  on  the  other  hand,  with  all  we  wish  for  them  and  expect 
of  them,  we  are  open-minded  enough  to  get  their  viewpoint,  remembering 
that  the  more  completely  we  enter  into  their  views  the  more  chance  we  have 
of  strengthening  their  weak  points  and  winning  them  over  to  our  ideas,  and 
of  developing  their  possibilities,  and  the  greater  opportunity  we  have  of 
aiding  them  in  a  higher  and  finer  sense  then  when  merely  giving  a  ^pen- 
sion. 

We  must  make  each  investigation  thorough;  do  it  conscientiously  and 
earnestly.  What  we  must  have  is  social  evidence,  real,  circumstantial  and 
testimonial,  and  in  gathering  the  latter  we  must  weigh  well  the  person  giv- 
ing it,  his  relations,  if  any,  to  our  family,  if  he  is  biased  on  account  of 
nationality,  religion  or  self-interest,  perhaps,  and  weigh  his  competency  to 
give  us  facts.  Don't  accept  as  evidence  any  inference  that  cannot  be  cor- 
roborated. The  risk  involved  is  too  great.  We  must  gather  our  facts  from 
relatives,  employers,  teachers,  school  nurse,  truant  officers,  ministers,  doc- 
tors, insurance  companies,  lodges  and  from  social  agencies  in  the  community. 
First  we  must  gather  these  facts  in  order  to  know  if  there  is  dependency, 
and  we  must  have  no  pre-conceived  idea  as  to  whether  a  family  needs  the 
pension  or  not.  And  we  also  gather  our  facts  to  know  how  to  plan  for  our 
family's  welfare  and  needs. 

The  following  regarding  the  pensions  in  the  county  in  which  I  am 
working  will  interest  you:  There  were  80  pension  cases  in  the  county 
when  I  came  four  months  ago.  Sixty-six  of  these  80  were  in  the  largest 
city  in  that  county.  Upon  taking  up  the  work  we  had  the  pensions  all  made 
payable  on  the  first  Monday  and  Tuesday  of  each  month.  This  was  done 
to  enable  us  to  meet  these  mothers  every  month  and  supervise  their  house- 
hold expenses  which  they  were  asked  to  keep  account  of  in  a  little  book 
provided  by  the  county.  The  initial  social  interview  and  face  card  informa- 
tion was  procured,  in  many  cases,  at  this  first  meeting  with  the  family. 
Within  two  months  it  developed  that  11  of  66  cases  should  not  have  had  a 
pension-. 

One  mother  owned  a  home  valued  at  $1,450  and  had  $4,000  in  cash;  that 
is,  $3,000  in  banks  and  $1,000  invested  in  a  mortgage;  and  she  had  been 
drawing  a  pension  since  the  month  her  husband  died,  which  was  two  years 
ago. 

Another  mother,  living  in  her  own  home,  had  received  $1,500  insurance 
and  $1,750  from  a  railroad  company,  her  husband  having  met  his  death  while 
switching  trains,  and  she  drew  the  pension  for  three  years,  having  been 
granted  it  one  month  after  her  husband's  death. 

Other  mothers  were  drawing  pensions  for  children  who  had  died,  and 
one  of  these  children  had  been  dead  a  year. 

Another  mother  was  drawing  a  pension  for  a  child  who  had  been  in 
the  Red  Wing  School  for  six  months,  and  another  mother  had  been  remar- 
ried and  there  were  two  children  by  this  second  husband  in  the  home,  and 

104    . 


she  was  still  drawing  the  pension  for  her  first  husband's  child,  and  up  to 
this  time  we  have  not  even  been  able  to  verify  her  first  marriage. 

And,  further,  some  mothers  were  receiving  $25.00  a  month  for  the  care 
of  two  children,  and  others  were  struggling  to  care  for  five  children  on  $25.00 
a  month,  ana  unless  all  five  children  could  be  under  the  age  of  three,  it 
could  not  be  done  at  the  present  cost  of  food,  clothing,  etc. 

One  family  that  was  granted  a  pension  of  $25.00  consisted  of  mother 
and  six  children,  and  the  youngest  child  was  born  eight  months  after  the 
death  of  the  father,  being  only  five  months  old  at  the  present  time.  She 
was  endeavoring  against  these  odds  to  also  care  for  in  her  home  her  in- 
curable, rheumatic  mother. 

It  was  learned  that  another  widow  drawing  a  pension  for  her  children 
was  not  in  the  city  at  all,  and  investigation  proved  that  she  was  living  an 
immoral  life  where  she  was.  She  is  now  back  home  and  with  them,  and  is 
being  given  an  opportunity  to  get  work  and  "make  good"  before  the  matter 
of  discontinuing  the  pension  and  placing  the  children  should  be  brought  be- 
fore the  court. 

These  and  other  things  could  and  would  have  been  avoided  through 
proper  investigation  and  by  supervision  of  these  families. 

To  conclude,  let  us  consider  that  in  making  the  budget  for  a  county 
allowance  we  include  food,  clothing,  recreation  money,  health  needs,  insur- 
ance, rent  or  taxes,  household  incidentals,  carfare,  etc.,  up  to  the  amount, 
of  $15.00  a  month  for  one  child,  and  from  $5.00  to  $10.00  a  month  for  each 
succeeding  child,  it  being  more  expensive  proportionately  to  support  one 
child  than  more  than  one.  And  let  us  considjer  that  if  these  children  had 
to  be  maintained  in  a  state  institution,  to  these  things  already  included  in 
the  budget  would  have  to  be  added  such  institutional  expenses  as  salaries 
of  matrons  to  care  for  the  children,  laundresses  to  wash  and  iron  for  them, 
cooks  to  prepare  their  meals,  and  teachers  for  their  schooling  with  the 
cost  of  maintaining  the  institution  itself. 

In  Illinois,  which  allows  a  mother,  as  we  do  here  in  Minnesota,  up  to 
$15.00  for  the  first  child  and  up  to  $10.00  for  each  succeeding  child,  it  costs 
to  maintain  each  girl  in  their  institutions  from  $15.00  to  $18.00  a  month,  and 
to  maintain  each  boy  from  $10.00  to  $13.00  a  month.  Therefore  county  allow- 
ances are  in  that  state  a  paying  investment,  also,  to  the  state. 

Mr.  Swendsen:  In  all  cases  do  you  grant  the  full  amount  to  the  widow 
if  she  needs  it? 

Miss  Montegpiffo:  Yes;  if  she  needs  it.  It  depends  largely  upon  the 
age  of  the  children. 

Mr.  Swendsen:  We  have  some  judges,  I  think,  in  the  audience,  and 
perhaps  we  may  hear  from  some  of  them. 

Judge  Hall:  I  have  in  my  county  a  mother  having  four  children,  whose 
husband  died  a  few  months  ago.  About  six  weeks  ago  I  heard  she  was 
married.  She  has  not  called  since  for  her  check.  We  have  been  discussing 
whether  or  not  it  belonged  to  her. 

Mrs.  Murdoch:  We  had  two  cases  in  Wabasha  county,  but  we  imme- 
diately notified  the  judge  of  probate  that  the  pension  was  discontinued 
without  any  question. 

105 


Judge  Hall:  There  is  a  legal  proposition  there.  You  cannot  compel  a 
man  to  support  another  man's  children.  I  do  not  know  how  the  child  wel- 
fare law  applies  here. 

Mr.  Swendsen:     I  think  you  will  have  to  ask  the  attorney  general. 

Judge  Hall:  The  supreme  court  has  ruled  in  the  past  that  if  the  step- 
father voluntarily  assumes  the  responsibility,  he  is  held. 

Mr.  Vasaly:  That  shows  that  at  the  time  of  acceptance  of  the  gentle- 
man as  a  husband,  there  should  be  certain  conditions. 

Caroline  M.  Macomber,  Mothers'  Aid  Department,  Minneapolis:  I  have 
several  families  where  the  women  have  married,  and  the  pension  has  auto- 
matically ceased  at  that  time.  One  woman,  the  mother  of  ten,  was  mar- 
ried recently,  and  everything  seems  to  be  going  very  well. 

Mr.  Hod>on:     The  question  should  be  referred  to  the  attorney  general. 

I  just  wonder  if  this  isn't  true:  Judge  Hall  has  said  that  if  the  hus- 
band voluntarily  accepts  the  support  of  the  children  that  is  sufficient.  May 
I  add  to  that  that  if  the  husband  actually  undertakes  it  over  any  extensive 
period,  that  is  regarded  as  a  voluntary  acceptance?  So  a  very  short  period 
of  assumption  of  responsibility  by  the  second  husband  would  constitute  an 
acceptance  and  would  therefore  render  those  children  not  subject  to  an  al- 
lowance. 

The  second  point  is  that  the  statute  refers  to  a  widow,  and  I  am  quite 
confident  that  in  legal  technicality  a  woman  who  has  married  is  not  a 
widow. 

Mrs.  Sanderson:  I  shou4d  like  to  speak  in  behalf  of  the  father  left  with 
five  or  six  small  children  and  nothing  but  the  day's  small  wage.  Is  there 
any  way  anybody  can  help  a  father  and  give  him  a  pension?  It  seems 
harder  for  a  father  to  get  along  than  for  a  mother  when  left  alone,  as  the 
public  will  give  sympathy  and  sometimes  assistance  to  a  mother,  but  the 
father  will  be  left  entirely  alone. 

Mr.  Hodson:  At  the  time  the  commission  was  considering  the  statute, 
that  question  arose.  There  are  two  reasons  why  the  father  should  not  be 
included.  In  the  first  place  you  have  to  stop  somewhere;  you  could  go  on 
indefinitely  in  this  general  field.  The  second  point  is  it  is  presumed  that 
the  father  of  the  children  is  in  a  position  to  support  them.  He  is  the  one 
who  under  any  circumstances  would  labor  and  support  his  family.  There- 
fore the  need  of  the  pension  for  the  father  is  not  so  great.  The  spirit  of  the 
statute  is  to  keep  the  mother  at  home  with  her  children.  Of  course  the 
father  would  not  be.  Those  two  reasons  were,  I  think,  largely  responsible 
for  confining  the  law  to  the  cases  which  were  mentioned  in  the  statute. 

John  G.  Ross,  Duluth  Humane  Society:  It  seems  to  me  that  one  of  the 
most  important  points  in  this  so-called  mothers'  pension  law,  which  was 
touched  upon  by  the  author  of  the  very  able  paper  we  just  listened  to,  is 
the  personal  contact  of  the  welfare  workers  with  families  participating  in 
the  pension.  The  pension  is  a  great  thing,  but  I  think  that  the  impression 
made  by  the  proper  kind  of  social  welfare  worker  on  the  mother  of  children 
participating  in  the  pension  is  of  almost  as  much  importance  as  the  money 
itself;  and  the  fact  that  there  is  such  a  very  low  percentage  of  juvenile 
delinquency  in  the  families  participating  in  this  pension  speaks  for  this 
very  thing.  I  think  that  there  are  many  families  and  children  scattered 

106 


around  that  probably  have  never  had  anyone  come  in  contact  with  them  to 
help  them  build  themselves  up.  The  fact  that  people  go  around  helping 
folks  to  help  themselves  is  one  of  the  greatest  factors  toward  building  up 
the  citizenship  of  this  state;  and  I  think  it  speaks  well  for  Minnesota  that 
there  are  so  many  who  gratuitiously  give  their  services.  I  think  the  widow's 
pension  is  one  of  the  strongest  steps  in  the  right  direction  toward  helping 
to  build  up  the  proper  kind  of  citizenship  by  keeping  them  together. 

I  think  we  are  greatly  indebted  to  the  lady  who  just  read  this  most 
splendid  paper. 

Mr.  Swendsen:  We  have  the  good  fortune  to  have  with  us  Mr.  Otto 
Davis,  the  executive  secretary  of  the  Council  of  Social  Agencies,  who  is 
going  to  tell  us  what  the  people  of  the  state  of  Minnesota  are  going  to 
expect  of  us.  We  have  the  foundation  on  which  to  build  a  beautiful  struc- 
ture, and  I  am  sure  Mr.  Davis  will  tell  us  what  we  ought  to  do  and  what 
the  people  expect  us  to  do. 


107 


WHAT  IS  EXPECTED  OF  OUR  CHILD  WELFARE 

BOARD 

Otto  W.  Davis,  Executive  Secretary.  Council  of  Social  Agencies,  Minneapolis. 

I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  whether  I  am  to  play  today  the  roll  of  a  prophet, 
historian  or  preacher.  As  I  listened  last  evening  to  the  discussion,  and  as  I 
have  listened  here  this  afternoon,  it  seemed  to  me  there  were  so  many 
others  here  prepared  to  tell  what  ought  to  be  done  that  I  should  keep  quiet, 
and  I  shall  try  not  to  talk  very  long. 

The  things  that  you  have  been  discussing,  the  things  that  are  on  your 
program,  they  are  the  things  that  we  had  in  mind  when  we  worked  on  the 
child  welfare  commission  as  the  ideals  toward  which  these  county  boards 
would  work. 

Some  of  us  had  known  about  the  organization  of  counties  and  small 
towns  in  some  of  the  other  states,  particularly  in  Massachusetts,  by  private 
organizations,  and  how  those  who  had  undertaken  this  work  in  rural  dis- 
tricts had  found  that — just  as  Mr.  Bruno  said  last  evening — the  very  same 
kind  of  conditions  existed  in  the  smaller  communities  and  in  the  rural  com- 
munities that  existed  in  the  bigger  cities.  We  have  known  about  them  in 
the  bigger  cities,  while  in  the  rural  communities  they  have  gone  uncared  for 
and  unheeded. 

When  the  child  welfare  commission  undertook  its  task,  we  were  con- 
scious of  certain  needs  in  the  state,  some  of  which  I  will  mention. 

We  knew,  for  instance,  a  little,  a  very  little,  but  enough  to  know  that 
we  had  a  great,  big  problem  relating  to  the  feeble-minded,  all  of  whom 
are  in  reality  children.  We  knew  that  we  had  a  great,  big  problem  relating 
to  the  traffic  in  babies,  in  which  our  courts  were  perhaps  an  innocent  but 
nevertheless  an  active  partner  through  the  method  of  adoption  which  was 
then  in  vogue.  The  courts  are  not  specially  to  be  blamed.  They  had  no 
way  of  finding  out  whether  the  home  was  a  good  home  or  whether  the  child 
belonged  to  some  one,  or  whether  it  was  one  that  couKi  be  given  to  another. 
We  knew  that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  indifference  toward  neglect  in  all 
parts  of  the  state,  particularly  in  the  smaller  communities.  We  knew  that 
delinquency  was  going  unchecked  and  no  one  was  paying  very  much  atten- 
tion to  it,  and  we  felt  that  in  some  way  or  other  we  had  to  get  hold  of  a  bit 
of  machinery  that  would  function  in  all  these  various  directions. 

Theoretically  the  state  was  the  guardian  of  every  child.  Well,  what  is 
theory  good  for  if  it  does  not  work?  And  it  was  not  working.  It  was  on 
the  statute  books,  but  the  state  of  Minnesota  had  never  learned  to  prac- 
tice it.  The  big  thing  which  our  commission  had  in  mind,  and  which  we 
tried  to  render  possible  through  you,  was  the  creation  of  some  kind  of  an 
agency  that  could  operate  to  reach  and  do  the  particular  thing  that  needed 
to  be  done,  wherever  it  might  be,  throughout  this  great  state  of  Minne- 
sota. 

Of  course,  if  you  are  going  to  have  a  real,  live,  effective  organization — as 
we  have  come  to  realize  so  fully  during  the  last  two  years  of  war — we  must 

108 


have  it  centralized,  as  we  witness  in  our  Liberty  Loan  campaigns  and  in 
our  drives  for  this  and  that,  and  in  our  fuel  conservation,  and  all  the  other 
different  lines  of  concentrated  and  intense  activity  that  have  been  built 
up  in  connection  with  the  war.  So  we  undertook  to  centralize  the  authority 
and  the  power  of  the  state  in  some  kind  of  a  piece  of  machinery  that  could 
operate  and  could  do  these  things  that  many  of  us  were  conscious  of,  and 
all  of  us  knew  a  little  about,  but  did  not  know  how  to  go  at  it;  and  that 
machinery,  fortunately,  was  found  in  our  Board  of  Control. 

I  never  can  think  of  our  Board  of  Control  without  feeling  mighty  glad 
that  we  have  it,  that  we  have  had  on  it  men  of  such  broad-minded  vision 
that  they  are  net  concerned  merely  with  trying  to  save  a  few  dollars  for  the 
moment  for  the  state  of  Minnesota,  but  are  concerned  in  seeing  how  much 
good  they  could  do  for  the  welfare  of  the  citizenship  of  Minnesota,  not  for 
the  moment,  but  in  the  long  run. 

It  was  a  splendid  thing  that  we  had  here  the  Board  of  Control,  enjoy- 
mg  the  confidence  of  the  state,  so  that  we  had  something  to  which  we  could 
attach  our  new  bit  of  machinery  and  make  it  run;  and  we  did  not  make 
any  mistake,  it  is  quite  evident,  even  from  the  short  time  it  has  been  oper- 
ating. 

So  we  set  up  our  ideal  as  to  what  that  agency  should  do  for  any  needy 
child — the  thing  which  that  child  needed  to  have.  If  you  read  over  the  law 
I  think  you  will  find  some  words  very  much  to  that  effect;  they  are  not 
very  legal,  but  some  of  us  can  understand  what  they  mean  without  going 
to  the  attorney  general — they  are  to  do  anything  that  ought  to  be  done  tor 
the  child  in  need. 

Then,  having  created  the  central  agency,  we  had  before  us  the  problem 
of  enabling  this  centralized  authority  and  responsibility  to  function  away  out 
through  the  thousands  of  towns  and  villages  and  counties  in  this  immense 
state.  Down  in  Missouri  they  had  talked  a  lot  about  having  county  public 
welfare  boards,  and  we  had  seen  the  public  welfare  board  developed  in 
Kansas  City.  They  tried  to  get  the  legislature  to  provide  for  county 
boards  of  public  welfare  at  the  same  time  that  we  tried.  We  were  success- 
ful in  providing  for  county  child  welfare  boards.  Unfortunately  the  Mis- 
sourians  were  not  successful  in  getting  their  law  passed. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  better  way  of  trying  to  determine  what  we  had 
in  mind  than  to  see  what  the  law  has  to  say  about  it.  In  the  first  place 
we  did  not  define  very  specifically  the  duties  of  the  county  boards,  and 
that  was  omitted  very  deliberately  because  we  could  not  define  them  if  we 
tried.  They  are  subject  only  to  your  resourcefulness  and  your  ideals.  In 
the  second  place,  if  we  had  undertaken  to  define  them,  we  should  have  left 
out  a  lot  of  important  things  that  you  would  want  to  do  sooner  or  later. 
So  we  simply  said  that  the  county  child  welfare  board  should  perform  such 
duties  as  may  be  required  of  it  by  the  Board  of  Control  in  furtherance  of  the 
purposes  of  this  act.  And  in  a  moment  we  will  try  to  find  out  what  the  act 
is  about. 

Then  it  went  on  to  provide  for  the  appointment  of  an  executive  secre- 
tary and  agents,  who  should  receive  such  salary  as  the  Board,  together  with 
the  county  board,  might  agree  upon.  And  then  further  provision  was  made 
that  they  might  be  directed  to  perform  the  duties  of  probation  and  school 

109 


attendance  officers,  and  aid  in  the  investigation  of  county  allowances  for 
mothers. 

What  are  the  things  in  this  act  that  this  board  was  created  to  help  carry 
on?  The  first  section  of  this  act  contains  that  clause  which  I  referred  to  a 
few  minutes  ago,  where  it  gave  the  Board  of  Control  power  or  legal  guar- 
dianship over  the  persons  of  children  committed  to  its  care  or  to  institu- 
tions under  its  management,  and  made  it  responsible  for  doing  whatever 
needed  to  be  done. 

Now,  it  is  not  for  me  to  tell  you  this  afternoon  to  what  extent  you  are 
going  to  be  called  on  by  the  Board  of  Control  to  help  carry  out  such  plans 
as  it  may  develop  in  fulfilling  the  trust  or  guardianship  which  is  imposed 
on  them  in  this  law.  I  doubt  if  they  could  tell  you.  I  do  not  believe  they 
know,  or  any  of  us  know,  because  this  thing  is  bound  to  be  a  growth  and  a 
development.  As  we  think  it  through  and  as  we  find  ways  of  meeting  the 
needs,  as  we  become  conscious — as  this  lady  who  was  talking  a  moment 
ago  said — of  things  that  have  been  done  in  wrong  ways  or  that  can  be  done 
in  better  ways,  then  we  shall  undertake  to  do  them,  i  think  you  will  agree 
with  me  that  it  is  well  that  the  law  is  elastic  and  can  be  made  into  a  living 
organic  thing,  and  is  not  any  cut  and  dried  rule  of  thumb  for  you  to  follow. 

The  second  section  deals  with  the  unmarried  mother  and  her  little  one, 
and  places  the  duty  on  the  Board  to  make  an  investigation  of  all  such  un- 
fortunate situations  for  the  purpose  of  safeguarding  the  interests  of  the 
child.  Now,  there  are  a  whole  lot  of  things  that  can  be  done  in  safe- 
guarding the  interests  of  that  child.  The  law  mentions  one  or  two  of  them. 
The  Board  itself  is  responsible,  in  the  first  place,  in  the  law  for  seeing  that 
the  paternity  of  the  child  is  established.  Some  of  us  thought  it  would  not 
do  any  harm  if  the  child  were  permitted  to  have  a  father,  if  the  father 
could  be  found,  and  so  the  duty  was  placed  upon  the  Board  of  taking  the 
necessary  steps  to  establish  the  paternity  of  the  child.  In  the  second  place, 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  Board  to  secure  for  the  child  the  nearest  approach  to  the 
care  he  would  be  entitled  to  if  born  of  lawful  marriage. 

These  things  are  all  known  to  you.  It  seems  hardly  worth  while  for  me 
to  talk  about  them,  but  perhaps  it  is  well  occasionally  to  go  back  and 
refresh  our  minds  and  draw  from  the  original  source  our  ideas  of  what  we 
are  to  do. 

This  problem  of  the  illegitimate  mother,  as  some  of  you  know  and  as 
some  of  you  are  learning,  is  perhaps  as  difficult  a  problem  as  you,  or  I,  or 
any  group,  can  have  to  deal  with.  It  is  a  problem  which  is  in  a  state  of 
flux  and  which  is  changing  almost  every  day.  The  man  or  woman  who 
undertakes  to  be  dictatorial  as  to  how  we  shall  care  for  the  unmarried 
mother,  is  in  grave  danger  of  having  his  pride  suffer  from  a  fall.  Some  of 
us  have  had  this  experience.  I  used  to  know  a  whole  lot  more  about  how 
to  take  care  of  the  unmarried  mother  than  I  do  now. 

We  have  passed  from  the  state  of  theory  to  practice  in  Minnesota, 
and  there  now  exists  an  agency,  thank  God,  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that 
the  interests  of  the  child  of  the  unmarried  mother  is  safeguarded.  Some 
of  those  duties  are  going  to  be  passed  along  to  you.  Just  how  fast,  I 
do  not  know.  Nobody  else  knows.  Very  likely  it  will  depend  on  how  fast 
you  are  prepared  to  take  them  over  and  handle  them. 

110 


There  is  one  other  point  that  I  cannot  leave  out,  it  is  so  important,  and 
it  is  the  first  time  it  has  been  recognized  in  this  country.  I  do  not  know 
whether  the  board  has  found  time  to  do  much  in  that  direction  or  not. 
We  must  be  patient,  and  tolerant,  and  give  the  board  a  chance  itself  to 
work  this  thing  out,  because  it  has  not  the  precedent  of  ages  to  follow. 
We  had  precedent  when  we  scorned  the  woman  who,  as  has  been  said, 
"achieves  the  virtue  of  motherhood  without  any  of  its  reward,"  but  when  we 
undertake  to  be  helpful  to  her,  we  have  no  precedents. 

The  important  thing  to  which  I  refer  is  that  the  board  is  empowered, 
in  seeking  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  child,  to  extend  aid  to  the  woman 
approaching  motherhood  in  such  ways  as  it  may  deem  wise.  Now,  I 
cannot  tell  you  what  our  idea  was  for  the  county  boards  in  carrying  out 
the  purposes  of  that  act,  but  there  is  a  great  untouched  territory  there,  a 
virgin  soil,  into  which  some  of  you  are  going  some  day  to  begin  to  feel 
your  way  and  try  to  see  what  you  can  do,  and  at  the  end  of  ten  years 
perhaps  we  shall  be  in  a  position,  when  speaking  before  a  group  of  this 
kind  at  some  future  conference,  to  lay  down  some  general  principles  that 
we  may  follow  in  trying  to  care  for  the  expectant  mother  who  has  not  the 
privilege  of  sharing  her  responsibilities  with  its  father. 

Then  the  next  section  of  this  law,  one  just  preceding  that  which  provides 
for  the  creation  of  the  boards  you  represent,  states  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  board  to  promote  and  initiate  action  for  the  protection  of  unfortunate 
children.  To  promote  and  initiate — yes,  that  is  what  we  needed.  We  needed 
something  to  get  some  push  into  our  ideals.  We  had  the  theory  but  we 
had  not  any  way  of  getting  some  dynamic  force  back  of  the  theory  to 
protect  the  needy  child.  Oh,  just  think  what  it  is  going  to  mean  friends, 
when  we  really  know  how  and  are  ready  to  take  the  initiative  on  behalf 
of  every  defective,  illegitimate,  neglected  and  delinquent  child  in  Minne- 
sota, and  see  that  the  thing  is  done  that  needs  to  be  done  to  give  him  his 
rightful  opportunity  to  develop  into  a  good  citizen! 

I  am  not  at  all  sure  but  the  day  will  come  when  this  child  welfare 
board  which  we  have  created  in  the  state  of  Minnesota,  or  which  is  in 
the  process  of  being  created  by  you,  will  become  very  much  more  than 
even  a  child  welfare  board.  I  am  not  sure  but  that  it  may  become  a  board 
which  will  have  responsibility  for  doing  any  of  those  things  which  need 
to  be  done  for  the  welfare  of  all  the  people  within  the  county.  I  thought 
that  in  some  of  the  bills  suggested  before  the  recent  legislature  I  saw  a 
little  indication  of  something  of  this  sort  on  the  part  of  those  who  felt  that 
there  is  need  for  better  organization  of  the  counties,  especially  along  health 
lines. 

Now,  what  are  you  to  do  in  your  counties?  Well,  if  you  cannot  find 
something  to  do,  I  suggest  that  you  resign  from  the  commission.  That  is 
one  thing  you  can  do.  Because  if  you  have  not  imagination  enough  to 
know,  without  my  telling  you,  let  somebody  be  appointed  who  has. 

It  matters  not  whether  it  is  the  question  of  infant  mortality  or  whether 
it  is  the  question  of  home  finding  and  child  placing;  whether  it  is  a  question 
of  juvenile  delinquency  or  supervision  of  recreation;  it  matters  not  whether 
it  is  a  question  of  sex  education  or  responsibility  for  further  development  of 
school  activities,  so  as  to  better  meet  the  needs  of  these  children  who  seem 
not  to  be  held  as  they  should  be  by  our  public  school;  it  matters  not' 

111 


whether  it  is  a  question  of  child  labor  or  whether  it  is  a  question  of  some 
poor  feebleminded  girl  who  is  breeding  feebleminded  children;  it  matters 
not  whether  it  is  a  delinquent;  if  there  is  some  child  in  need  in  your 
county,  the  duty  and  the  responsibility  are  yours. 

One  other  thing  for  which  we  need  county  boards  is  that,  when  you 
uncover  some  of  these  problems  that  we  have  been  discussing,  and  feel 
the  need  of  remedial  legislation,  you  can  go,  from  your  own  experience, 
and  tell  your  representatives  in  the  legislature  about  what  must  be  done. 
Then  we  can  all  get  behind  a  program  that  will  help  remove  some  of  these 
stumbling  blocks  to  wholesome  child  development. 

In  closing  I  am  inclined  to  refer  to  an  incident  related  by  Dr.  Edward  D. 
Devine  the  other  day  when  speaking  in  Minneapolis.  Dr.  Devine,  as  many 
of  you  know,  was  for  a  long  time  editor  of  "The  Survey"  and  is  the  leading 
interpreter  of  social  work  in  America.  He  told  how  one  evening,  when  he 
was  having  his  clalss  in  applied  economics  meet  at  his  home,  he  invited  in 
another  professor  from  Columbia  to  address  them.  The  guest  suggested 
that  they  play  a  little  game.  Then  he  passed  around  some  slips  of  paper 
on  which  he  asked  those  present  to  write  an  answer  to  the  question,  "What 
do  you  expect  to  be  asked  in  the  Day  of  Judgment,"  Dr.  Devine's  little 
girl,  who  was  eight  or  ten  years  old,  took  part  in  the  game,  and  she  wrote 
on  her  slip  of  paper,  "Have  I  been  good?"  When  the  papers  were  all 
collected  and  the  replies  were  read,  it  appeared  that  all  of  them  had 
written  practically  the  same  thing,  although  different  words.  The  leader 
of  the  game  said,  "You  all  seem  to  think  you  are  going  to  be  asked  the 
question,  'Have  I  been  good?'  But  that  does  not  appear  to  me  *o  be  the 
question  you  are  going  to  be  asked.  I  think  you  are  going  to  be  asked, 
'Where  are  you  from?'  And  you  will  say,  'From  Minneapolis,  or  St.  Paul, 
or  St.  Cloud.'  And  then  he  will  ask,  'What  is  the  infant  mortality  rate  in 
St.  Cloud?'  And  he  will  ask,  'Have  you  pure  water  and  pure  milk  in  St. 
Cloud,  or  in  Owatonna,  or  in  |Minneapolis?'  Then  he  will  ask,  'Are  th'ere 
any  neglected  children  in  your  city?  Is  there  any  child  labor?  Are  there 
any  widows  with  little  children  who  have  not  enough  to  keep  them  in 
their  home?'"  And  so  on. 

Well,  it  seemed  to  me  rather  a  grotesque  idea  of  the  orthodox  Day  of 
Judgment,  and  I  asked  a  friend  of  mine,  who  is  more  of  a  Biblical  student 
and  theologian  than  I  am,  just  what  basis  there  might  be  for  any  such 
idea.  I  was  told  that  if  we  really  eliminate  the  opinions  expressed  by  some 
of  the  apostles  as  to  what  they  think  the  Day  of  Judgment  may  be,  and  go 
back  to  the  words  of  Him  whom  many  of  us  regard  as  more  authoritative, 
Jesus  Himself,  we  find  that  in  only  one  place  has  He  said  anything  about 
it.  You  remember  the  scene. 

"When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come,  and  He  shall  separate  them  on 
His  right  hand  and  His  left,  and  He  shall  say  unto  them — "  What  are  the 
questions  He  asked?  Do  any  of  you  know? 

"JFor  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat:  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye 
gave  me  drink:  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in: 

"Naked,  and  ye  clothed  me:  I  was  sick  and  ye  visited  me:  I  was  in 
prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me." 

There  does  not  seem  to  be  anything  there  about  the  Westminster  Cate- 
chism. There  does  not  seem  to  be  anything  there  about  the  confession 

112 


of  faith.  (I  am  not  ridiculing  these  things.)  There  does  not  seem  to  be 
anything  there  about  whether  you  go  to  church,  nor  about  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  nor  about  the  Ten  Commandments,  which  are  good  things  to  know 
but  better  to  practice.  Interesting,  isn't  it,  that  these  are  the  only 
questions  Jesus  Himself  told  us  we  are  going  to  be  asked? 

When  you  ask  me  what  we  expect  of  the  county  child  welfare  boards, 
I  can  only  say  that  it  is  your  high  privilege  and  opportunity  to  test  the 
extent  of  your  strength  and  imagination  and  ability  in  carrying  out  the 
ideals  the  Great  Master  Himself  set  forth  as  they  relate  to  the  children  of 
your  particular  counties. 

Mr.  Hodson:  May  I  say  a  word,  Mr.  Chairman?  You  will  excuse  me 
for  coming  before  you  so  often  and  saying  so  much  in  a  single  day.  I 
want  to  just  touch  briefly  on  some  matters  relating  to  the  feebleminded  and 
on  the  policy  of  the  State  Board  of  Control  as  the  children's  bureau  is 
trying  to  work  it  out  under  the  board's  direction. 

First  of  all,  the  statute.  It  provides  that  a  child— and  all  the  feeble- 
minded are  children — or  any  person  that  is  feebleminded  may  be  committed 
to  the  care  and  custody  of  the  State  Board  of  Control,  irrespective  of  the 
consent  of  the  parent  or  the  guardian.  The  question  simply  is:  Does  the 
welfare  of  that  patient  and  does  the  welfare  of  the  community  demand 
that  the  great  arm  of  the  state  reach  out  and  take  that  patient? 

If  those  two  things  coincide,  or  even  if  the  welfare  of  the  community 
alone  demands  it — it  is  hard  to  conceive  of  a  case  where  the  two  things 
do  not  coincide — then  a  petition  may  be  filed  in  the  probate  court  asking 
for  an  examination  of  the  patient.  The  patient  is  brought  before  the  judge 
on  the  date  set  and  the  hearing  is  held  before  two  physicians  and  the 
probate  judge.  However,  the  law  provides  that  in  special  cases  the  probate 
judge  may  request  that  the  Board  of  Control  send  a  psychiatrist,  one  skilled 
in  mental  diagnosis,  and  have  that  psychiatrist  examine  the  patient  to 
determine  whether  or  not  feeblemindedness  exists.  The  psychiatrist  is 
merely  a  witness;  he  is  not  a  member  of  the  board.  If  the  examining  board 
finds  the  patient  to  be  feebleminded,  he  is  then  committed  to  the  care  and 
custody  of  the  State  Board  of  Control. 

And  what  does  that  mean?  It  means,  first  of  all,  that  if  the  patient 
comes  within  a  certain  classification  which  the  Board  of  Control  has  laid 
down,  he  will  receive  admission  to  the  institution  at  Faribault  on  the  very 
earliest  occasion. 

What  are  those  classifications?  First  of  all  the  obvious  class  that 
every  one  of  you  would  pick  out,  the  girl  or  woman  of  child-bearing  age. 
There  is  the  crux  of  the  whole  situation.  That  is  where  we  must  begin. 
Now,  if  you  have  such  a  patient,  the  case  will  be  made  special  by  th/e 
board,  in  accordance  with  the  usual  rules,  and  admission  will  be  given 
to  Faribault  at  the  very  earliest  time. 

What  is  the  second  classification?  The  child  who  is  in  a  home  where 
he  is  not  receiving  proper  attention,  where  his  particular  needs  are  not 
understood,  where  he  is  a  menace  to  himself  and  to  everybody  else,  such 
a  child  is  again  an  object  for  the  state's  special  consideration. 

What  is  the  third  classification?  Well,  in  general,  all  other  cases, 
and  from  those  can  be  sifted  out  the  cases  of  patients  who  are,  for  instance, 
liable  to  commit  crime;  crimes  against  person, 'primarily;  crimes  against 

113 


property,  secondarily;  such  persons  who  may  perhaps  be  given  temporary 
care  at  some  other  state  institution.  The  Board  of  Control  has  said  the 
institutions  of  the  state  are  flexible,  and  these  patients  will  be  taken  where 
they  can  be  cared  for  until  such  time  as  proper  classification  can  be  made. 
That  covers  in  a  general  way  those  patients  who  can  be  given  some  kind 
of  custodial  supervision. 

What  about  the  rest  of  them?  We  are  trying  to  develop  a  field  of 
extra-institutional  care,  a  field  which  as  yet  we  know  very  little  about  and 
which,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  not  been  developed  in  any  part  of  the  country 
to  any  considerable  extent.  There  are  individual  communities,  like  the 
Bernstein  experiment  in  New  York  a.nd  the  experiment  in  Vineland,  New 
Jersey,  where  they  are  doing  very  remarkable  things,  but  it  is  in  part  ex- 
perimental. We  are  trying  to  put  these  other  patients  under  some  kind 
of  supervision. 

What  does  that  mean?  First  of  all,  educating  the  family  of  the  patient 
to  understand  his  needs.  You  may  think  that  is  a  strange  thing  to  do. 
How  can  some  outsider  explain  to  a  family  anything  about  a  child  ten 
years  old?  You  will  be  surprised  how  much  a  person  who  understands  the 
needs  of  feebleminded  children  can  do.  He  can  talk  with  parents  in  some 
such  fashion  as  this:  "These  are  the  peculiar  things  about  this  child  which 
you  must  understand,  which  you  must  remember.  You  must  handle  this 
child  in  a  certain  way;  you  must  remember  that  this  child  is  different 
from  your  other  children;  you  must  remember  that  he  is  not  bright  and 
that  you  must  guard  him  on  the  side  of  possible  sex  danger;  you  have  to 
guide  and  direct  him." 

Very  frequently  we  have  found  that  the  child  is  misunderstood  in  the 
home.  He  is  a  nuisance;  he  is  behind  everybody  else;  he  is  always  causing 
trouble.  And  the  family  sometimes  become,  through  a  long  period  of 
years,  impatient.  They  are  not  willing  to  study  and  consider  and  try  to 
adjust  that  child  in  their  home. 

On  the  outside  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  the  community  to  understand 
the  peculiar  needs  of  these  feebleminded  patients.  The  schoolboys  make 
fun  of  them;  often  the  teacher  does  not  recognize  the  fact  of  feebleminded- 
ness. The  managers  of  industrial  institutions  are  not  familiar  with  the 
peculiar  situation  and  the  peculiar  needs  of  the  feebleminded. 

What  we  are  trying  to  do,  and  we  have  only  begun  it  in  a  very  small 
way,  is  to,  so  far  as  possible,  make  every  feebleminded  person  a  self- 
supporting  unit  in  the  community.  That  is  the  idea.  You  can't  put  all 
the  feebleminded  in  institutions,  but  we  can  and  we  must  put  the  feeble- 
minded under  some  kind  of  supervision,  some  kind  of  guidance,  some  kind 
of  direction,  and  at  the  same  time  try  to  bring  a  community  to  an  appre- 
ciation of  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  that  faces  any  community. 

I  wish  all  of  you  could  have  heard  Dr.  Healy  the  other  day  describe 
the  kind  of  thing  which  he  is  trying  to  do  in  Boston.  He  is  endeavoring 
to  get  at  the  very  roots  of  the  problems  of  feeblemindedness,  and  to  under- 
stand what  all  the  implications  of  feeblemindedness  are. 

We  are  only  making  a  beginning;  we  are  a  long  way  from  our  goal; 
but  that  is  the  vision.  And  I  would  state  it  in  this  way:  That  all  feeble- 
minded patients  who  do  not  need  institutional  care  should  be  so  adjusted 

114 


to  their  homes  and  to  their  communities  and  to  their  factors  ofi  the  com- 
munity with  which  they  come  in  contact,  that  they  may  be  made  self- 
supporting,  contributing  units  to  that  community. 

Mr.  Swendsen:  The  three  large  counties  of  the  state — Ramsey,  Henne- 
pin  and  St.  Louis — have  appointed  agents  and  permanent  secretaries,  and 
I  know  we  all  shall  be  interested  to  hear  from  representatives  of  these 
counties. 


115 


SYMPOSIUM  ON  WORK  OF  CHILD  WELFARE 

BOARDS 

Ramsey  County. 

Monica  Keating,  Executive  Secretary,  Ramsey  County  Child  Welfare 
Board:  I  want  to  tell  you  what  we  are  trying  to  accomplish  in  Ramsey 
county. 

The  board  was  organized  in  July,  1918,  and  until  the  first  of  November, 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  United  Charities,  the  work  was  done  through 
the  district  secretaries.  The  first  of  November  I  came  to  the  board  and 
worked  alone  until  the  first  of  April — of  course  having  a  trained  office 
worker.  Then  I  was  given  an  office  assistant,  or  agent,  the  first  of  April. 

Since  July,  1918,  the  following  number  of  cases  have  been  handled  by 
the  Ramsey  County  Child  Welfare: 

45  adoptions. 

40  placements. 

74  cases  which  we  list  as  miscellaneous,  and  which  I  will  explain  later. 

82  unmarried  mothers. 

16  feebleminded  cases. 

In  my  estimation  the  biggest  problem  is  the  unmarried  mother  who 
comes  from  out  of  town,  especially,  and  for  whom  provision  must  be  made. 
We  can  take  care  of  town  girls,  because  they  can  go  into  their  own  homes, 
or  into  the  homes  of  friends  or  relatives,  but  we  find  it  particularly  hard 
for  out-of-town  girls.  The  institutions  caring  for  such  girls  are  crowded 
all  the  time  and  cannot  take  a  girl  for  the  required  period  before  confine- 
ment, keep  her  through  confinement,  and  for  three  months  after  confine- 
ment. 

I  have  tried  to  establish  a  friendly  relationship  with  every  one  of  the 
girls,  and  have  tried  to  make  them  feel  that  I  am  their  friend;  that  they 
can  come  to  me  for  anything  that  may  come  up;  and  I  am  glad  to  say 
they  are  doing  that.  I  have  had  one  or  two  girls  come  with  regard  •  to 
employment;  some,  with  regard  to  their  future  life. 

I  have  in  mind  one  girl  who  was  quite  provoked  and  put  out  with  me 
when  I  first  came  in  contact  with  her.  I  feel  that  she  now  considers  me 
quite  a  particular  friend.  She  came  to  me  not  long  ago  saying  she  wanted 
to  go  into  a  new  line  of  work.  After  having  been  ill  in  one  of  the  hospitals 
she  thought  she  would  like  to  work  there,  and  finally  decided  to  become  a 
nurse.  She  talked  to  the  people  in  the  institution  about  this  and  they 
gave  her  a  great  deal  of  encouragement,  not  knowing  her  history.  But 
she  could  not  fill  out  her  blank  truthfully.  I  told  her  I  would  takie  the 
matter  up  and  explain  the  situation  to  the  superintendent  of  the  hospital 
before  any  decision  was  made.  The  superintendent  told  me  that  she  thought 
if  we  were  doing  constructive  work,  we  could  not  keep  a  girl  out  of  a 
hospital  just  because  she  had  had  a  child.  I  told  the  girl  and  advised  her 
to  have  a  confidential  talk  with  the  hospital  authorities.  She  did  that  and 
expects  to  enter  the  hospital  on  the  first  of  June. 

116 


Then  the  cases  that  I  mentioned  as  miscellaneous  are  really  to  a  great 
extent  dependency,  neglect  and  delinquency.  In  St.  Paul  there  is  na  one 
organization  handling  such  cases.  All  of  the  organizations — such  as,  the 
United  Charities,  the  Jewish  Charities,  the  League  of  Protestant  Women, 
the  Guild  of  Catholic  Women — have  been  handling  such  cases,  but  they 
refer  cases  to  us  constantly  and  ask  us  to  take  them  up  if  court  action 
is  necessary.  I  find,  when  I  go  into  those  cases,  that  it  is  much  easier  to 
accomplish  something  if  you  explain  that  you  are  from  the  county  welfare 
board  with  the  backing  of  the  State  Board  of  Control;  we  carry  more 
weight  with  the  family  concerned  and  the  court,  in  some  instances. 

We  have  four  cases  in  Ramsey  county  that  I  think  are  rather  excep- 
tional, four  children  committed  to  the  care  and  custody  of  the  Board  of 
Control  who  are  not  placeable  and  cannot  be  placed  in  any  institution 
where  there  are  normal  children.  These  are  children  carrying  a  syphilitic 
taint.  For  a  while  they  were  in  the  city  hospital,  which  objected  strenu- 
ously. I  went  to  the  county  board,  talked  it  over  with  the  secretary,  and 
he  agreed  that  if  there  weren't  too  many  of  such  cases  he  would  be  very 
glad  to  board  them  in  a  private  home  and  provide  them  with  clothing  if  I 
would  find  the  home  and  guarantee  it.  I  knew  I  couldn't  put  these  children 
in  homes  where  there  were  normal  children;  but,  having  had  experience 
with  such  cases,  I  knew  of  a  good  many  good  mothers  who  were  suffering 
from  exactly  this  same  disease.  We  have  these  four  children—or  will 
have  them  placed  within  a  few  days — in  good  homes,  where  they  are 
receiving  a  mother's  care.  The  county  is  paying  for  them,  and  they  are 
having  all  the  advantages  of  a  normal  childhood. 

I  think  those  are  the  only  problems  that  I  have  had  to  deal  with. 

Mr.  Swendsen:     Mrs.  Corriston. 

Hennepin  County. 

Lela  Corriston,  executive  secretary,  Hennepin  County  Child  Welfare 
Board:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  sorry  that  Mr.  Garrigues  is  not  here,  because 
he  would  give  you  a  much  better  talk  than  I  can. 

The  Hennepin  board  was  established,  I  think,  about  a  year  ago,  but  no 
particular  case  work  was  done  until  January  1,  1919,  at  which  time  the 
office  was  opened.  Our  office  is  particularly  fortunate  in  having  a  board 
which  stands  back  of  us  very  strong. 

Mr.  Garrigues  has  appointed  a  committee  for  each  case,  so  that  when 
any  unusual  condition  arises  we  have  a  meeting  of  these  different  com- 
mittees and  they  very  kindly  help  us  out. 

I  will  give  you  a  resume  of  the  work  we  have  done  in  the  four  months 
we  have  been  working. 

Miss  Forster  has  charge  of  the  feebleminded  cases  and  unmarried 
mothers. 

In  the  four  months  we  have  had  ten  cases  of  dependency  reported, 
and  have  investigated  eight  of  them. 

All  neglected  and  delinquency  cases  we  have  been  very  fortunate  in 
being  able  to  refer  to  other  organizations.  Because  of  our  offices  being 
new, -we  have  not  been  able  to  assume  all  the  responsibility. 

The  inspection  of  homes  and  hospitals,  Mr.  Hodson  has  very  kindly 
taken  from  us  until  we  have  more  agents. 

117 


Of  the  41  adoption  cases  reported  to  us,  we  have  investigated  32;  of 
the  43  replacements  reported,  we  have  investigated  23;  of  juvenile  court 
actions  we  have  had  20 — this  is  in  the  disposition  of  cases;  criminal  prose- 
cutions, 5;  actions  to  establish  paternity,  45;  guardians  appointed,  0.4; 
children  sent  to  state  or  county  institutions,  5;  and  2  cases  referred  to  the 
State  Board  of  Control.  In  the  unmarried  mother  cases  we  have  had  45 
complaints  filed  and  judgments  entered  of  8  cases;  12)1  cases  of  unmarried 
mothers  have  been  reported  in  the  four  months  and  85  cases  investigated. 
The  total  number  of  all  cases  reported  is  236,  with  158  investigated  up  to 
date. 

Mr.  Swendsen:  I  am  informed  that  Dr.  Ingham,  of  Duluth,  chairman 
of  the  St.  Louis  County  Welfare  Board,  could  not  be  here  because  of  illness, 
but  we  have  Mr.  Ward  with  us,  and  we  shall  be  glad  to  have  him  tell  us 
about  the  work  in  St.  Louis  county. 

St.  Louis  County. 

Fred  Ward,  secretary,  St.  Louis  (County  Child  Welfare  Board:  I  am  a 
poor  substitute  for  a  preacher. 

St.  Louis  county  is  a  peculiar  little  place.  It  is  only  130  miles  long 
and  60  miles  wide.  We  have  railroads  and  we  have  wagon  roads,  but 
a  good  many  of  our  neighborhoods  we  have  to  go  to  on  foot.  I  want  to 
say  tha.t  there  may  be  better  counties  in  Minnesota  than  St.  Louis,  but 
if  there  are  I  do  not  know  where  they  are. 

Now,  the  Board  of  Control  took  a  step  in  the  right  direction  when  they 
appointed  county  child  welfare  boards,  because  that  is  a  step  toward  placing 
local  responsibility  on  people  for  local  conditions.  Now,  our  welfare  board 
did  not  get  away  with  the  rest  in  the  field  as  we  should  have,  but  I  hope 
that  when  we  come  in  on  the  home  stretch  we  shall  be  somewhere  up 
near  the  front. 

We  have  lots  of  rock  in  our  county.  That  is  what  develops  muscle, 
and  finally  you  get  there  by  bucking  against  them.  You  have  to  have  rocks 
for  a  foundation,  then  you  build  the  sill  and  then  your  superstructure. 
We  have  the  rocks  and  we  sort  of  swiped  the  sill — we  got  Miss  Sill  from 
Red  Wing — and  we  are  going  to  get  by  with  a  pretty  good  kind  of  a  house. 

Our  job  is  to  obey  most  of  the  laws  of  the  Board  of  Control.  If  they 
don't  all  just  suit  you,  make  some  to  suit  yourself,  but  get  the  work  done, 
anyhow.  The  first  big  job  is  to  go  into  the  field  and  get  the  co-operation 
of  your  county  agencies.  In  every  county  there  have  been  agencies  doing 
this  work,  and  they  have  been  doing  it  well.  If  we  go  in  and  say,  <fYou 
get  out  of  the  way;  we  will  show  you  how  to  do  it,"  you  will  have  ajn 
awful  time,  because  they  can  show  you  a  lot  of  things.  But  the  work  isn't 
all  done.  There  is  lots  more  of  it  to  be  done. 

If  you  have  a  sick  cow  or  a  sick  chicken,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  write 
to  Washington  and  you  will  get  all  the  information  you  want.  They  will 
tell  you  just  what  to  do  for  the  chicken  when  it  has  the  pip,  and  wlhat  to 
do  for  the  cow  when  it  has  the  colic.  But  what  we  are  striving  for  in 
St.  Louis  county  is  that  our  kids  may  have  an  even  break  with  the  live- 
stock. When  we  get  that  far.  we  shall  be  a  hundred  per  cent  ahead  of 
where  we  are  now.  That  is  our  job. 

118 


Get  the  co-operation  of  the  other  folks.  We  are  all  jealous  of  our  own 
pasture.  We  don't  want  anyone  else  in  it.  Let  us  get  co-operation.  A  lot 
of  our  people  up  there  I  know  will  co-operate  with  us.  I  hold  our  organiza- 
tion should  be  a  clearing  house,  pure  and  simple.  We  shouldn't  burden  it 
with  a  lot  of  machinery.  Let  us  have  co-operation.  Let  us  help  them  in 
the  cases  they  can't  finish  up.  If  we  do  that,  we  are  fulfilling  our  mission. 

I  am  prouder  of  Minnesota  today  that  I  ever  have  been  before.  I  had 
the  good  fortune  to  be  born  down  here  in  Wright  county.  I  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  working  something  like  twelve  years  in  another  state  in  re- 
formatory work,  and  I  am  glad  to  see  that  the  people  administering  our 
institutions  and  administering  our  work  of  this  kind  in  Minnesota  are  not 
politicians  altogether.  They  are  not  the  kind  of  people  that  are  doing  it 
for  the  job.  They  are  doing  it  for  the  folks. 

I  want  to  say,  friends,  that  your  job  and  my  job  is  to  go  to  work  and 
help  to  make  better  Americans.  Let  us  do  this  work  that  we  have  got  to 
do  for  the  sake  of  the  boys  and  the  girls,  for  our  America,  and  for  Him  who 
said:  "Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not:  for 
of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven." 

Mr.  Swendsen:  We  have  had  a  splendid  conference,  one  which  I  am 
sure  we  shall  leave  with  more  enthusiasm  than  we  had  when  we  came. 

Without  your  co-operation  the  Board  of  Control  can  do  nothing,  but  you 
have  proved  to  us  that  you  intend  to  co-operate  with  us.  If  we  meet  a 
year  from  now,  many  of  you  will  report  great  results.  One  thing  is  positive: 
If  we  take  care  of  the  children  and  bring  them  up  right,  we  are  going  to 
have  a  splendid  citizenship,  and  generations  to  come  will  thank  us  for  the 
work  which  we  have  started. 

On  behalf  of  the  board,  let  me  thank  you  all. 

May  10,  1919. 
Mrs.  E.  F.  Waite,  2009  Queen  Ave.  S.,  Minneapolis. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Waite:  The  first  Minnesota  state  conference  of  Child 
Welfare  Boards  and  Child  Welfare  Workers  directs  me  to  extend  to  your 
honored  and  distinguished  husband  our  profound  sympathy  in  his  illness, 
with  our  wishes  and  prayers  for  his  recovery.  We  miss  the  sunshine  of  his 
presence  and  the  wisdom  of  his  counsel,  as  well  as  regret  that  we  cannot 
express  to  him  personally  our  gratitude  for  the  great  work  so  unselfishly 
done  by  him,  as  attested  by  this  gathering. 

Very   truly  yours, 

CHAS.  E.  VASALY, 

Chairman. 
(Copy  of  telegram.) 


119 


LIST  OF  THOSE  IN  ATTENDANCE  AT  CHILD 

WELFARE  BOARD  CONFERENCE 

MAY  9-10,  1919. 


Aitkin  County 

Frank  Hense,  Judge  of  Probate 
Beltrami 

Jos  E.  Harris,  Bemidji,  Judge  of  Probate. 
Blue  Earth 

Evan  Hughes,  Mankato,  Judge  of  Probate. 

Mrs.  J.  R.  Brandrup,  Red  Cross — Mankato. 

Mrs.  W.  J.  Morehart,  Voluntary  Probation  Officer,  Mankato. 
Brown 
Cass 

Chippewa 
Chisago 
Clay 

Mrs.  H.  A.  Johnson,  Ulen,  Secretary — Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  William  Russell,  Moorhead,  Secretary— Child  Welfare  Board. 
Crow  Wing 

Mr.  L.  P.  Hall,  Deerwood,  Child  Welfard  Board. 

Mrs  A.  M.  Opsahl,  Proxy  for  Mrs.  C.  S.  Bently,  Brainerd,  Secretary— Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  Bert  Sabin,  Mission,  Secretary — Child  Welfare  Board. 

J.  T.  Sanborn,  Brainerd,  Judge  of  Probate. 

Elda  Garrison,  R.  N.,  Crosby,  County  Nurse. 
Douglas 

Mrs.  W.  S.  Downing,  Osakis,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Ole  J.  Berg,  Alexandria,  Judge  of  Probate. 
Freeborn 

C.  C.  Baker,  Albert  Lea,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs  Charles  E.  Paulson,  Albert  Lea,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  Barbara  Fletcher,  Albert  Lea,  Agent — Child  Welfare  Board. 
Qoodhue 

Mr.  J.  T.  Fulton,  Red  Wing,  State  Training  School. 

Mrs.  J.  T.  Fulton,  Red  Wing,  State  Training  School. 

J.  H.  DeWitt,  Red  Wing,  State  Training  School. 

Harriet  Gebhardt,  Box  35,  Red  Wing,  State  Training  School. 

Lenus  R.  Olson.  Red  Wing,  State  Training  School. 

Wm.  M.  Ericson,  Red  Wing,  Judge  of  Probate. 
Hennepin 

Mrs.  Lela  B.  Corriston,  Executive  Secretary,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Miss  Carolina  Forster,  Assistant  Executive  Secretary — Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mr.  G.  W.  Olson,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  H.  B.  Sweetser,  2509  Pillsbury  Ave.,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Winifred  G.  Corell,  Nurse-Prenatal  Dept.,  Minneapolis  City  Hospital. 

Alma  Holzschuh,  Social  Service  Dept.,  Minneapolis  City  Hospital. 

Margaret  C.  Kiernan,  Social  Service  Dept.,  Minneapolis  City  Hospital. 

Margaret  McDonald,  Social  Service  Dept.,  Minneapolis  City  Hospital. 

Florence  Oberg,  Social  Service  Dept.,  Minneapolis  City  Hospital. 

Annie  S.  O'Donnell,  Supervisor — Dept.  Pediatrics,  Lymanhurst,  Minneapolis  City  Hospital. 

Mary  C.  Smith,  Social  Service  Dept.,  Minneapolis  City  Hospital 

Josephine  Thomson,  Prenatal  Dept.,  Minneapolis  City  Hospital. 

Mrs  H.  L.  Gearhart,  4948  Fremont  Ave.,  S.,  Secretary — Bethany  Home. 

Marion  Lacy,  3719  Bryant  Ave.,  Matron — Bethany  Home. 

Mrs.  Ernest  F.  Smith,  2  Groveland  Terrace,  Bethany  Home. 

Mrs.  E.  M.  Lembke,  44th  St.  and  River  Blvd.,  Sheltering  Arms. 

Margaret  L.  Anderson,  929  8th  st.,  S.  E.,  Children's  Protective  Society. 

Mrs.  H.  C.  Driver,  2012  Garfield  Ave.,  Children's  Protective  Society. 

Frances  E.  McNamara,  Hastings  Hotel,  Children's  Protective  Society. 

Sadie  McNamara,  Hastings  Hotel,  Children's  Protective  Society.  . 

Mary  E.  Byrne,  305  Court  House,  Department  of  Education. 

Florence  R.  Goldberg,  2701  Grand  Ave.,  Department  of  Education — Attendance  Dept. 

Althea  Heitsmith,  3204  E.  51st  st.,  Department  of  Education — Monroe  School 

Bertha  Van  Hove,  407  City  Hall,  Department  of  Education — Attendance  E<par(rc(nt. 

Carolina  Bedford, 611  Kasota  Bldg.,  Associated  Charities. 

L.  W.  Bartholow,  515  Tribune  Annex,  District  Superintendent — Society  fcr  the  Friendless. 

Mary  E.  Bednoiz,  22  Court  House,  Mothers'  Aid  Dept. — Official  Invest. 

Rose  E.  McMillen,  R.  N.,  2724  Humboldt  Ave.,  S.,  Mothers'  Aid  Dept.— Official  Invest. 

Carolin     M.  Macombar,  2105  1st  Ave.,  S.,  Mothers'  Aid  Dept. — Official  Invest. 

Mrs.  Jennie  F.  Carlisle,  22  Court  House,  Juvenile  Court — Probation  Officer. 

Edward  J.  Davenport,  22  Court  House,  Juvenile  Court. 

Howard  R.  Hush,  Court  House,  Juvenile  Court — Chief  Probation  Officer. 

D.  C.  MacSeagie,  Hopkins,  R.  R.  2,  Juvenile  Court. 

Mrs.  Marie  C.  Nehls,  211  Union  St.,  S.  E.,  Juvenile  Court— Probation  Officer. 
Charlotte  Stock  we 11,  22  Court  House,  Juvenile  Court. 

Mrs  W.  B.  Dahl,  2300  Nicollet  Ave.,  Chairman—  Child  Welfare — 8th  Ward,  Woman's  Com- 
munity Council. 

Mrs.  P.  T.  Hurley,  3324  48th  Ave.,  S.,  Woman's  Community  Council — 12th  Ward. 
Mrs.  C.  C.  Prindle,  19X)8  Irving  Ave.,  S.,  Woman's  Community  Council. 
Chas.  P.  Milne ,  Glen  Lake-Hopkins,  Glen  Lake  Farm  School — Detention  Home  for  Boys. 

120 


Hennepin — Continued . 

Mildred  D.  Lucas,  2428  Garfield  Ave.,  Minn.  Society  for  Prevention  of  Cruelty. 
Mrs.  Daniel  Coonan,  424  W.  Franklin,  Minn.  Social  Legislation  Committee. 
Otto  W.  Davis,  1120  Vincent  Ave.,  N.,  Council  of  Social  Agencies. 

Mrs.  Dorothy  Kurtzman,  1033  E.  River  Road,  Director  Public  Health  Course— U.  of  Minn. 
Marie  Caluett,  R.  N.,  509  Washington  A  vr>.,  S.  E.,  Public  Health  Course— University  of  Minn. 
Honora  Costigan,  508  12th  Ave.,  S.  E.,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Ellen  Hellickson,  2627  Chicago  Ave.,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Mary  L.  Johnson,  539  Laurel  Ave.,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Ruth  J.  Johnson,  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  St.  Paul,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
May  M.  Leeds,  695  Holly  Ave.,  St.  Paul,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Fannie  J.  Leppi,  Northwestern  Hospital,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Lydia  Lindenbersc,  501  W.  Franklin  Ave.,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Pearl  Mclver,  321  Church  St.,  S.  E.,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Lelia  Pedicord,  2016  Hennepin  Ave.,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Amelia  Quale,  1028  6th  St.,  S.  E.,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Elma  Rood,  Curtis  Court,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 

Maude  E.  Simpson,  509  Washington  Av*3.,  S.  E.,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Saiah  Trott,  Kimball  St.,  North  St.  Paul,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Beth  L.  Troupe,  501  W.  Franklin  Ave.,  Public  Health  Course — University  of  Minn. 
Bessie  Kenney,  R.  N.,  212  Harvard  St.,  Social  Service — University  of  Minn. 
Jennie  E.  Osborne,  R.  N.,  509  Washington  Av^.,  S.  E.,  Social  Service — University  of  Minn. 
Mrs.  Mary  Gillette  Moon.,  2282  Carter  Ave.,  St.  Paul,  Women's  Co-op.  Alliance, Minneapolis. 
Itasca 
Kanabec 
Kandiyohi 

N.  B.  Johnson,  New  London,  County  Commissioner  and  member  of  Child  Welfare  Board. 
Mrs.  James  Sanderson,  720  W.  Litchfield  Ave.,  Willmar,  Child  Welfare  Board. 
Koochiching 

S.  E.  Greeg*  International  Falls,  Child  Welfare  Board. 
G.  A.  Olson,  International  Falls,  Chairman— Child  Welfare  Board. 
Lac  Qui  Parle 

Mrs.  O.  G.  Dale,  Madison,  Chairman — Child  Welfare  Board. 
Lincoln 
Lyon 

Mrs.  W.  E.  Peik,  Tracy,  Secretary — Child  Welfare  Board. 
Mahnomen 

Otto  H.  J.  Brauer,  Mahomen,  Chairman — Child  Welfare  Board. 
B.  J.  Reck,  Mahnomen,  Judge  of  Probate. 
Martin 
Meeker 

Mrs.  M.  A.  Harris,  Litchfield,  Secretary— Child  Welfare  Board. 
Mrs.  Alva  R.  Hunt,  Litchfield,  Child  Welfare  Board. 
Mower 

Henry  Weber,  Austin,  Judge  of  Probat?. 
Murray 

Jennie  Holm,  Slayton,  Secretary— Child  Welfare  Board. 
Nicollet 
Olmstead 

Mrs.  Minnie  Bowron,  48  E.  Zumbro,  Rochester,  Civic  League. 
Arthur  Kilbourne,  Rochester,  Superintendent  State  Hospital. 
Otter  Tail 

Miss  Antionette  Henderson,  Fergus  Falls,  Ex-officio — Child  Welfare  Board. 
Mrs.  Etta  Miller,  Fergus  Falls,  Secretary — Child  Welfare  Board. 
Mrs.  A.  O.  Stoa,  Fergus  Falls,  Child  Welfare  Board. 
E.  Frankberg,  Fergus  Falls,  Probate  Judge. 
Polk 

Marius  Christianson,  Mentor,  Chairman — Child  Welfare  Board. 
Pope 
Ramsey 

Monica  C.  Keating,  Executive  Secretary — County  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Nellie  T.  Van  Duzer,  Assistant  Executive  Secretary — County  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Lea  Braunstein,  207  Wilder  Bldg.,  Jewish  Charities. 

Helen  Grodinsky,  207  Wilder  Bldg.,  Jewish  Charities.  • 

E.  G.  Steger,  104  Grand  Ave.,  United  Charities. 

Sister  Raymonjd,  1458  Randolph  St.,  St.  Joseph's  German  Catholic  Orphan  Society. 

Sister  Juliana,  1458  Randolph  St.,  St.  Joseph's  German  Catholic  Orphan  Society. 

Wm.  Schwentker,  St.  Paul,  Ev.  Lutheran  Kinderfreund  Society. 

An.na  Buelow,  St.  Paul,  Agent — Ev.  Lutheran  Kinderfreund  Society. 

Miss  Lydia  S.  Weinzierl,  670  Marshall  Ave.,  Superintendent— Protestant  Orphan  Asylum. 

Mrs.  Frank  Whitmore,  246  Cathedral  Place,  Catholic  Infant  Home. 

Mathilda  Coupanger,  R.  N.,  75  E.  12th  St.,  St.  Paul  Hospital. 

Rev.  S.  W.  Dickinson,  2239  Commonwealth  Ave.,  Children's  Home  Society 

J.  L.  Parmeter,  525  llth  Ave.,  S.  E.,  Minneapolis,  Dist.  Supt.  Children's  Home  Society 

J.  W.  Prosser,  3249  Harriet  Ave.,  Minneapolis,  Dist.  Supt.  Children's  Home  Society. 

Maude  D.  Lee,  1471  Como  Ave.,  W.,  Salvation  Army  Rescue  Home. 

Una  M.  McAlee,  1471  Como  Ave.,  W.,  Salvation  Army  Rescue  Home. 

Bertha  Smith,  1471  Como  Ave.,  W.,  Salvation  Army  Rescue  Home. 

Katherine  McHale,  427  Dayton  Ave.,  Mothers'  Aid  Dept.— Juvenile  Court. 

Helen  E.  Slack,  1736  Princeton  Ave.,  Mothers'  Aid  Department. 

Mrs.  Hattie  M.  Fox,  Superintendent  County  Home  School  for  Boys — Highwood. 

Sam  F.  Fullerton,  123  W.  Summit  Ave.,  Executive  Agent— State  Humane  Society. 

Louise  E.  Schutz,  Old  Capitol,  Bureau  of  Women  and  Children. 

Florence  Burton,  4118  Wentworth,  Minneapolis,  Bureau  of  Women  and  Child 

121 


Ramsey — Continued . 

Elizabeth  Bray,  Minnesota  Public  Health  Association 

Lucy  Baker,  1576  Capital  Ave.,  School  Nurse. 

Elizabeth  E.  Miller,  683  Fry  St.,  Public  Health  Nurse 

Dorothy  Motl,  281*  Selby  Ave.,  Public  Health  Nurse. 

Helen  Setrault,  R.  N.,  391  Selby  Ave.,  District  Nurse. 

Catherine  Smith,  District  Nurse. 

Catherine  Sweetman,  984  Ashland  Ave.,  Publi"    School  Nurse. 

Mrs.  J.  E.  Rounds,  1531  W.  Minnehaha,  President — 4th  District  M.  F.  W.  G. 

A.  J.  D.  Haupt,  310  Lowry  Annex,  Special  Officer,  Juvenile  Court 
Renvillc 

Amalia  Bengtson,  Olivia,  County  Child  Welfare  Board. 

W.  B.  Strom,  Hector,  City  Commissioner  and  member  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Edward  Lindquist,  Olivia,  Judge  of  Probate 
Rice 

E.  H.  Gipson,  Faribault,  Chairman — Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  James  E.  O'Neil,  Faribault,  Secretary— Child  Welfare  Board. 

Miss  Mabel  Pye,  Northfield,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Miss  Julia  F.  Dow,  Faribault,  School  for  the  Blind. 

James  N.  Tate,  Faribault,  Superintendent — School  for  the  Deaf. 

Agnes  Rood,  Faribault,  Visiting  Nurse. 
St.  Louis 

Mrs.  Peter  Schaefer,  Ely,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Fred  Ward,  R.  D.  No.  1,  Duluth,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Corabelle  Sill,  Duluth,  Executive  Secretary — Child  Welfare  Board. 

Estella  M.  Goering,  R.  N.,  Masonic  Temple,  Duluth,  Scottish  Rite  Infant  Welfare  Dept. 

Mrs.  Mary  L.  Hickox,  306  Court  Houss,  Duluth,  General  Secretary — Ass.  Charities. 

Lillian  Peterson,  R.  N.,  Duluth,  Board  of  Education. 

John  G.  Ross,  Court  House,  Duluth,  Duluth  Humane  Society. 
Stearns 

Mrs.  J.  B.  Dunn,  St.  Cloud,  County  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  A.  F.  Moynihan,  Sauk  Centre,  County  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  N.  Bergman,  Sauk  Centre,  Home  Sr-hool  for  Girls. 

Miss  V.  E.  Carson,  Sauk  Centre,  Home  School  for  Girls. 

Clara  B.  Holden,  Chief  Parole  Agent — Home  School  for  Girls. 

Mrs.  Fannie  French  Morse,  Superintendent — Home  School  for  Girls. 
Steele 

Mrs.  Frank  Adams,  Owatonna,  Chairman — Child  Welfare  Board. 

Alice  Jefferson,  245  E.  Broadway,  Owatonn%  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Elsie  W.  Barkhoefer,  Owatonna,  State  Agent — State  Public  School. 

A.  J.  Harpman,  Owatonna,  State  Agent — State  Public  School. 

H.  J.  Jager,  Owatonna,  State  Public  School. 

Galen  A.  Merrill,  Owatonna,  Superintendent — State  Public  School. 

P.  G.  Swanson,  Owatonna,  State  Public  School. 
Stevens 

D.  H.  Lawler,  Morris,  County  Commissioner  and  member  of  Child  Welfare  Board. 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Mahaffie,  Morris,  Secretary— Child  Welfare  Board. 

Miss  Nellie  Moran,  Morris,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

A.  L.  Senger,  Morris,  Judge  of  Probate. 
Swift 

Mrs.  S.  H.  Johnson,  Appleton,  Child  Welfare  Board. 
Todd 

E.  A.  Lewis,  Long  Prairie,  Judge  of  Probate. 

Mrs.  C.  A.  Wood,  Long  Prairie,  Child  Welfare  Board. 
Wabasha 

Mrs.  J.  W.  Murdoch,  Wabasha,  Child  Welfare  Board. 
Waseca 

Mrs.  D.  S.  Cummings,  Waseca,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  Eugene  Dieudonne,  Janesville,  Secretary — Child  Welfare  Board. 
Washington 

Miss  Edna  Mulvey,  Stillwater,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  Patrick  Murphy,  Stillwater,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Cora  M.  Nethaway,  Stillwater,  Agent,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

W.  R.  Sawyer,  St.  Paul  Park,  County  Commissioner — Child  Welfare  Board. 
Watonwan 

Mrs.  Oliver  Ashley,  Madelia,  Chairman — County  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  Verne  E.  Lewis,  Lewisville,  County  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mabel  S.  Madson,  St.  James,  Secretary — Child  Welfare  Board. 
Wilkin 
Winona 

M.  Alice  Barrows,  451  Wr.  Wabasha  St.,  Winona,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

A.  C.  Loomis,  Winona,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Helen  Montegriffo,  Winona,  Child  Welfare  Board. 
Yellow  Medicine 

Mrs.  C.  A.  Brown,  Hanley  Falls,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Miss  Lue  A.  Olds,  Granite  Falls,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Mrs.  O.  T.  Storaasli,  Clarkfield,  Child  Welfare  Board. 

Charles  F.  Hall,  Granite  Falls,  Judge  of  Probate. 

Flora  B.  Batho,  Granite  Falls,  County  Nurse. 
Out  of  State 

Miss  M.  B.  Noble,  2801  Foster  Ave.,  Chicago,  Chicago  Nursery  and  Orphan  Asylum 

Mrs.  W.  S.  Griswold,  Seattle,  Wash.,  Industrial  Welfare  Commission. 


122 


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